Hershey, PA

Hershey started as a classic company town, built from the ground up by Milton Hershey in the early 1900s to give his factory workers comfortable homes, green spaces, and good schools. Even today, that founder's vision shapes the look and feel of the community. Along Chocolate Avenue, streetlights shaped like foil-wrapped kisses line the road, while grand stone landmarks from the 1930s give the town center a stately presence you rarely find in a community this size. The Hershey Theatre, the historic Hotel Hershey on the hill, and the local sports venues were all constructed during the Great Depression to keep residents employed. Today, they still serve as busy community hubs and workplaces, blending small-town Pennsylvania roots with an unmistakable industrial heritage.

ATTRBronayur at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

If you are looking at homes here, keep in mind that Hershey is an unincorporated community governed by Derry Township, so your municipal services, zoning, and property taxes all run through the township building. Public school students attend the Derry Township School District, which regularly earns strong marks across the state and serves as a major draw for relocating families. Note that this public system is separate from the Milton Hershey School, a private cost-free boarding school founded for lower-income students. Living here also comes with a distinct seasonal rhythm. Summer tourism and major concerts bring heavy traffic along Hersheypark Drive and Chocolate Avenue, so buyers often seek out quiet residential pockets tucked away from the main commercial corridors.

ATTRRlevse / Public domain

The local economy revolves around two major anchors: The Hershey Company and the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The medical campus brings in physicians, researchers, and university staff from across the globe, creating a diverse professional base alongside longstanding manufacturing families. Everyday life outside of work is easygoing. The thirteen-mile Jonathan Eshenour Memorial Trail winds past neighborhoods, parks, and farmland, making it a favorite for runners and cyclists. On winter weekends, residents fill the Giant Center to cheer on the Hershey Bears hockey team, a local tradition since the 1930s. Between the township community center, well-kept parks, and the occasional scent of chocolate drifting through the air on production days, Hershey offers a comfortable, unique place to settle down.