Lykens Township occupies the northeast corner of Dauphin County, bordered by Northumberland County to the north and Schuylkill County to the east. The borough of Gratz, a separate municipality, is located south of the township center and is entirely surrounded by the township. Mahantango Creek, a west-flowing tributary of the Susquehanna River, forms the northern border of the township. Mahantango Mountain is a long ridge that crosses the northern length of the township south of Mahantango Creek. The southern border of the township runs along the ridge of Short Mountain/Bear Mountain, though not directly following the ridgecrest. Pennsylvania Route 25 runs east–west through the township and passes through the center of Gratz. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of, of which, or 0.03%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,095 people, 356 households, and 292 families residing in the township. The population density was 41.5 people per square mile. There were 371 housing units at an average density of 14.1/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 99.09% White, 0.27% African American, and 0.64% from two or more races. There were 356 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.7% were married couples living together, 3.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.44. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median agewas 34 years. For every 100 females there were 109.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $40,417, and the median income for a family was $45,156. Males had a median income of $31,172 versus $22,625 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,096. About 4.9% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Residents of Lykens Township may attend the local, public schools operated by Upper Dauphin School District which provides kindergarten through 12th grade. The District's enrollment declined to 1,237 students K-12 in 2013. Upper Dauphin Area School District ranked 322nd out of 500 public schools for academic achievement of its pupils in 2013. Lykens Township 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 Area 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 own 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 Township. Early screening, 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 Township residents have access to Harrisburg Area Community College. People residing in Lykens Township 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.
