As of the census of 2000, there were 1,937 people, 810 households, and 528 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,450.5 people per square mile. There were 925 housing units at an average density of 692.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 97.47% White, 0.36% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.52% of the population. There were 810 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 2.96. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $33,846, and the median income for a family was $40,909. Males had a median income of $31,774 versus $23,477 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,459. About 6.2% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Residents of Lykens may attend the local, public schools operated by Upper Dauphin Area School District which provides kindergarten through 12th grade. The District's enrollment declined to 1,237 students K-12 in 2013. Upper Dauphin School District ranked 322nd out of 500 public schools for academic achievement of its pupils in 2013. Lykens residents may also apply to attend Infinity Charter School located on 51 Banks St, Harrisburg and any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools at no additional cost to the parents. The Upper Dauphin School District is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools. By Commonwealth law, if the District provides transportation for its students, then the District must provide transportation to any school that lies within 10 miles of its borders. Residents may also seek admission for their school aged child to any other public school district. When accepted for admission, the student's parents are responsible for paying an annual tuition fee set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In 2012, the tuition fees for Upper Dauphin School District were: Elementary School - $8,961.52, High School - $9,565.39. Capital Area Intermediate Unit #15 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes Lykens. Early screening for a variety of disabilities, special educations services, speech and hearing therapy and many other services like driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements. CAIU15 also operates Capital Area Online Learning Association which is an online learning program operated in association with the local public schools. Lykens residents have access to Harrisburg Area Community College. People residing in Lykens fund HACC in part through an annual payment made by Upper Dauphin School District. Twenty-two local public school districts are required to contribute annually to HACC regardless of whether any residents are attending the college. Full-time students from these districts, who attend HACC, pay $1,674 for 12 credit hours.
Politics and government
;Council Members:
Gary Bopp Carl Slough Sr.
Carole Wertz Kerry Teter Delton Kreiser Terry Sherman ;Borough: Mayor - Carl Slough Jr. Code Officer - Light-Heigel Municipal Clerk - Jeannette Crabb Treasurer - Debbie Ketner Public Works - Nathan Pendal ;State level:
