The town is often called "Train Town USA" because of the many railroad attractions in and around town, including the Strasburg Rail Road and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Much of the movie Witness was filmed on a farm nearby.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,800 people, 1,110 households, and 798 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,714.1 people per square mile (1,049.6/km²). There were 1,135 housing units at an average density of 1,100.2/sq mi (425.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.64% White, 0.57% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 1,110 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $47,821, and the median income for a family was $56,829. Males had a median income of $38,946 versus $26,424 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,346. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.