Within the U.S. piedmont region, York County is generally hilly and rises to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest, where it is bordered by Yellow Breeches Creek.

Interior waterways include Codorus and Conewago Creeks, and Lakes Lehman,[7] Kiwanis, Marburg, Pahagaco, Pinchot, Redman, and Williams.

The latest temperature averages show some low-lying eastern areas of the county to have a humid subtropical climate (Cfa.)

York city had a 77.3 percent increase in the number of residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, based on a comparison of the 2000 and 2010 U.S. census results.

[18] The Central Pennsylvania accent and the Susquehanna dialect are the two most commonly heard speech patterns in the county.

[citation needed] The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has designated York County as the York–Hanover, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA).

[citation needed] Prior to 1952, York County was a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections, voting majority Republican only four times before then.

[23] Starting with the 1952 election, it has become a Republican stronghold with Lyndon Johnson being the lone Democrat to win the county since.

Since then, Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008 are the only Democratic presidential candidates who have received over 40% of the county's vote, and George H. W. Bush in 1992 is the only Republican not to win a majority.

According to the Secretary of State's office, a majority of voters in York County are registered as Republicans.

It runs Summer Academy which offers both art and academic strands designed to meet the individual needs of gifted, talented and high achieving students.

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in only one case, towns.

The following cities, boroughs and townships are in York County: Census-designated places are unincorporated communities designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data.