Purchase price and property taxes are separate parts of a home's budget. Dauphin County's July 2026 millage schedule lists a total rate of 35.34160 mills for Hummelstown Borough and 32.78170 mills for Derry Township, which includes Hershey. At the same taxable assessed value, Hummelstown's published base millage produces a higher tax amount. That comparison alone does not establish which home costs less to own.
That gap is worth understanding before it shows up as a surprise on a closing disclosure, especially for the buyers who ask about this comparison most: families weighing a shorter commute against a lower price, and medical staff relocating for a residency or a position at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center who are choosing between the two towns almost by default. The price numbers you'll find online for Hummelstown right now don't agree with each other. Listings tracked in September 2026 put the median list price at $374,000, while the same source's own June 2026 figure was $417,000 and sale prices over the three months ending in May 2026 averaged $262,000. Three numbers, three different ways of measuring the same town. The county's published schedule provides a dated basis for comparing the tax rates, but each home's tax bill still depends on its taxable assessment and any applicable property-specific charges or adjustments. Compare the actual parcels before deciding what either home will cost.
The Boundary the Map Doesn't Show
The instinct to treat Hummelstown as "Hershey, but cheaper" comes from geography. Hummelstown sits about five miles from downtown Hershey, a normal-traffic drive of roughly eight to ten minutes. It's close enough that a lot of buyers assume the two places share more than a border.
They don't share a school district. Hummelstown Borough sits entirely within Lower Dauphin School District, along with the townships of Conewago, East Hanover, Londonderry, and South Hanover. Hershey and the surrounding area fall under Derry Township School District. The two districts have separate boards, separate budgets, and separate tax rates, and the boundary between them isn't even fixed. A 1994 borough ordinance annexed several parcels into Hummelstown from Derry Township, a reminder that the line on the map has moved before and isn't guaranteed to stay put.
What the Rate Actually Looks Like
Here is the breakdown from the Dauphin County Assessment Office’s July 2026 millage schedule, including school rates for fiscal year 2026–2027:
Taxing Authority | County | Library | Municipal | School | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hummelstown Borough | 9.193 | 0.350 | 3.75000 | 22.0486 | 35.34160 |
Derry Township | 9.193 | N/A | 2.53810 | 21.0506 | 32.78170 |
The county rate is the same in both municipalities: 9.193 mills. Hummelstown also has a 0.35-mill county library levy, while the county schedule lists Derry's library levy as N/A. Derry's published municipal and school rates are lower. The total difference is 2.55990 mills. The schedule flags Derry Township for property-specific streetlight charges that may be additional, so confirm the charges for the parcel.
Why Derry Township's Number Is Lower
The municipal gap traces back to a specific agreement that Hummelstown has no equivalent of. In 1998, Derry Township and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company signed an amusement tax agreement, charging 75 cents per paid admission to attractions in the township. The rate was amended in 2012 to 85 cents per admission, and the revenue is split between the township and Derry Township School District. According to the township's own accounting, this amusement tax now provides roughly 8% of Derry Township's total revenue.
That's revenue Hummelstown Borough simply doesn't have access to, because it doesn't have a theme park, a chocolate factory tour, or an arena inside its borders generating admissions. Derry Township can hold its municipal levy lower because a portion of its budget is funded by every ticket sold at Hersheypark, Hershey Gardens, and the Giant Center, paid disproportionately by visitors rather than residents. Hummelstown's municipal budget has to come almost entirely from property owners.
What That Gap Actually Costs
At a taxable assessed value of $300,000, Hummelstown's 35.34160 mills produce $10,602.48 in annual base real estate tax. Derry's 32.78170 mills produce $9,834.51. The difference is $767.97 a year, or approximately $64 a month. These amounts exclude parcel-specific charges and do not account for any applicable exemptions, exclusions or discounts.
This example uses the same taxable assessment for both properties. A purchase price is not a substitute for the parcel's assessment. Check the current assessment and actual tax bills, along with any applicable exclusions, discounts and service charges, before estimating the annual tax cost of a specific home.
The Commute Doesn't Cancel Out the Difference
The usual argument for choosing Hummelstown over Hershey is the commute, but the math doesn't support as large a gap as buyers expect. Downtown Hershey itself is about a ten-minute drive from the medical center. Hummelstown is five to ten minutes. For someone commuting to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the difference between living in Hershey and living in Hummelstown is measured in single minutes, not a meaningful trade-off.
Public transit exists for both, run by Rabbit Transit's Route 322, which connects Downtown Harrisburg, the Capitol Complex, Hummelstown, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Downtown Hershey, the Hersheypark Service Center, and Tanger Outlets-Hershey on a single weekday route. If you're weighing Hummelstown specifically because you assume it buys you a shorter drive to the hospital, it's worth knowing that the drive from Hershey itself is nearly identical, and the tax rate is not.
What This Means If You're Comparing Both Towns
None of this is an argument that Hummelstown is the worse buy. Its housing stock covers a wider range than Hershey's, from Colonial-era rowhomes near Main Street that occasionally need updating to modern single-family homes with attached garages a few blocks out. Five buildings in the borough are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the oldest dating to 1782, which is worth knowing if you're evaluating an older property, since historic-adjacent homes can carry different insurance and renovation considerations than newer construction.
Use this comparison to understand one part of the housing budget: real estate taxes at the same taxable assessment. The full cost of owning a particular home also depends on its purchase price, financing, insurance, utilities, maintenance and other property-specific costs. Confirm the municipality, school district, assessment and actual tax bills for each parcel. Tax rates can change with future municipal and school budgets.
How much does the amusement tax actually save Derry Township residents? It funds about 8% of the township's total revenue, which is one of the reasons its municipal millage rate can sit lower than a comparable borough without that kind of visitor-driven income stream.
If I want the shortest possible commute to the medical center, is Hershey or Hummelstown actually faster? Downtown Hershey is about a ten-minute drive to the medical center, and Hummelstown runs five to ten minutes depending on the specific address. The difference is closer to a coin flip than a deciding factor.
If you're weighing Hummelstown against Hershey and want the actual numbers for a specific property, not a townwide average, Team Becker Realtors can pull the current assessed value, the applicable school district, and the real annual tax bill before you write an offer.
