Centre County, Pennsylvania

Not to be confused with Centre Region Council of Governments.

Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172.^[3] Its county seat is Bellefonte.^[4] Centre County is composed of the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is part of the Central region of the commonwealth.^[a]

Centre County
County
The Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, 2009
Flag Seal Logo
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°55′N 77°49′W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	February 13, 1800
Named after	Centre Furnace, the first industrial facility in the area
Seat	Bellefonte
Largest borough	State College
Area
• Total	1,113 sq mi (2,880 km2)
• Land	1,110 sq mi (2,900 km2)
• Water	3.0 sq mi (8 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	158,172
• Estimate  (2024)[1]	159,805
• Density	144/sq mi (56/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	15th
Website	centrecountypa.gov
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated	May 10, 1982[2]

History

The land of the future Centre County was first recorded by James Potter in 1764. Potter reached the top of Nittany Mountain and "seeing the prairies and noble forest beneath him, cried out to his attendant, 'By heavens, Thompson, I have discovered an empire!'" ^[5] Centre County was created on February 13, 1800 by Act 2092 of the Pennsylvania Legislature from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, and Northumberland counties. The act said that its inhabitants “labour under great hardships, by reason of their great distance from the present seats of justice, and the public offices” of their current counties.^[6] Its population was 4,112. Centre was among ten new counties carved from the existing twenty-six in early 1800. The county was named for its central location in the state.^[7] (The American spelling of ‘center’ was yet to be popularized by Noah Webster’s dictionaries, the first edition of which appeared in 1806.)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,113 square miles (2,880 km²), of which 1,110 square miles (2,900 km²) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) (0.3%) is water.^[8] Centre County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission. It is the fifth-largest county in Pennsylvania by area and its area code is 814.

Centre County has a humid continental climate (Dfb/Dfa at lower elevations).

State College
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.7     34 20     2.5     38 22     3.4     46 28     3.2     60 39     3.5     70 49     4.1     78 59     3.5     82 63     3.8     80 61     3.7     72 53     3.1     61 42     3.4     50 34     2.9     38 25 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: Pennsylvania State Climatologist[9]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     70     1 −7     64     3 −6     87     8 −2     81     15 4     88     21 10     104     26 15     89     28 17     98     27 16     93     22 12     78     16 6     85     10 1     73     3 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

Features

• Bald Eagle Valley
• Bald Eagle Mountain
• Nittany Valley
• Mount Nittany
• Penns Valley
• Tussey Mountain

Adjacent counties

• Clinton County (north)
• Union County (east)
• Mifflin County (southeast)
• Huntingdon County (south)
• Blair County (south)
• Clearfield County (west)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1810	10,681		—
1820	13,796		29.2%
1830	18,879		36.8%
1840	20,492		8.5%
1850	23,355		14.0%
1860	27,000		15.6%
1870	34,418		27.5%
1880	37,922		10.2%
1890	43,269		14.1%
1900	42,894		−0.9%
1910	43,424		1.2%
1920	44,304		2.0%
1930	46,294		4.5%
1940	52,608		13.6%
1950	65,922		25.3%
1960	78,580		19.2%
1970	99,267		26.3%
1980	112,760		13.6%
1990	123,786		9.8%
2000	135,760		9.7%
2010	153,990		13.4%
2020	158,172		2.7%
2024 (est.)	159,805		1.0%
[10][1]

As of the 2010 census,^[11] there were 153,990 people, 57,573 households, and 31,256 families residing in the county. The population density was 139 people per square mile (54 people/km²). There were 63,297 housing units at an average density of 57 units per square mile (22/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.4% White, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 5.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 2.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 57,573 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, 15.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 28.9% was from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.1 males.

2020 census

Centre County Racial Composition^[12]

Race	Count	Percent
White (non-hispanic)	129,668	82%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	5,306	3.35%
Native American (non-Hispanic)	120	0.08%
Asian (non-Hispanic)	11,373	7.2%
Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	39	0.02%
Other/Mixed (non-Hispanic)	6,015	3.8%
Hispanic or Latino	5,651	3.6%

Metropolitan statistical area

See also: Metropolitan statistical area and List of combined statistical areas

Map of the State College-DuBois, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), composed of the following parts:

  State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area

  DuBois, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget^[13] has designated Centre County as the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. Census^[14] the metropolitan area ranked 13th most populous in Pennsylvania and the 259th most populous in the United States with a population of 155,403. Centre County is also a part of the larger State College–DuBois, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the populations of Centre County as well as Clearfield County to the west. The combined statistical area ranked ninth in Pennsylvania and 123rd most populous in the United States with a population of 236,577.

Law and government

County commissioners

• Mark Higgins, Chairman (Democrat)
• Amber Concepcion, Vice-chair (Democrat)
• Steven G. Dershem, Commissioner (Republican) ^[15]

Other county offices

• Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Jeremy Breon, Democrat
• Controller, Jason Moser, Democrat
• Coroner, Scott Sayers, Democrat
• District Attorney, Bernie Cantorna, Democrat
• Recorder of Deeds, Joe Davidson, Republican
• Register of Wills, Christine Millinder, Republican
• Sheriff, Bryan Sampsel, Republican
• Treasurer, Colleen Kennedy, Democrat

State senate

• Cris Dush, Republican, Pennsylvania's 35th Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

• Scott Conklin, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 77th Representative District
• Paul Takac, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 82nd Representative District
• Kerry Benninghoff, Republican, Pennsylvania's 171st Representative District^[16]

United States House of Representatives

• Glenn "G.T." Thompson, Republican, Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district

United States Senate

• Dave McCormick, Republican
• John Fetterman, Democrat

Politics

Chart of Voter Registration

1. Democratic (41.9%)
2. Republican (40.6%)
3. Independent (13.7%)
4. Other Parties (3.76%)

United States presidential election results for Centre County, Pennsylvania^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	38,829	47.85%	41,119	50.67%	1,205	1.48%
2020	36,372	46.70%	40,055	51.42%	1,464	1.88%
2016	35,274	45.63%	37,088	47.97%	4,945	6.40%
2012	34,001	48.65%	34,176	48.90%	1,709	2.45%
2008	32,992	43.35%	41,950	55.12%	1,169	1.54%
2004	33,133	51.47%	30,733	47.74%	508	0.79%
2000	26,172	52.79%	21,409	43.19%	1,994	4.02%
1996	20,935	44.71%	21,145	45.16%	4,746	10.14%
1992	20,478	39.98%	21,177	41.34%	9,570	18.68%
1988	23,875	56.14%	18,357	43.17%	295	0.69%
1984	27,802	62.85%	16,194	36.61%	240	0.54%
1980	20,605	48.33%	15,987	37.50%	6,039	14.17%
1976	21,177	52.37%	17,867	44.18%	1,393	3.44%
1972	20,683	60.48%	13,194	38.58%	320	0.94%
1968	15,865	55.61%	11,163	39.13%	1,499	5.25%
1964	9,481	36.19%	16,556	63.20%	158	0.60%
1960	18,357	67.98%	8,601	31.85%	46	0.17%
1956	15,412	67.18%	7,483	32.62%	45	0.20%
1952	14,700	66.31%	7,391	33.34%	77	0.35%
1948	10,416	61.52%	6,515	38.48%	0	0.00%
1944	10,048	55.08%	8,064	44.21%	130	0.71%
1940	10,665	51.75%	9,869	47.88%	76	0.37%
1936	9,869	45.24%	11,734	53.79%	211	0.97%
1932	8,264	52.55%	7,053	44.85%	409	2.60%
1928	12,005	77.17%	3,431	22.05%	121	0.78%
1924	7,723	59.13%	4,443	34.01%	896	6.86%
1920	7,615	57.82%	4,783	36.31%	773	5.87%
1916	4,392	50.02%	4,120	46.92%	269	3.06%
1912	1,507	19.01%	3,445	43.46%	2,974	37.52%
1908	4,927	53.12%	3,998	43.10%	351	3.78%
1904	5,291	55.18%	4,015	41.87%	283	2.95%
1900	4,684	50.64%	4,339	46.91%	226	2.44%
1896	4,880	49.93%	4,546	46.51%	348	3.56%
1892	3,698	42.72%	4,624	53.42%	334	3.86%
1888	4,574	48.29%	4,712	49.75%	185	1.95%
1884	4,057	46.66%	4,495	51.70%	143	1.64%
1880	3,602	43.30%	4,598	55.28%	118	1.42%

United States Senate election results for Centre County, Pennsylvania1^[18]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	38,054	47.32%	40,382	50.22%	1,979	2.46%

Centre County for many years has been a strongly Republican county, like most of rural Pennsylvania. In the early 21st century, however, it has been more competitive. In 2000 George W. Bush defeated Al Gore with 52% of the vote to Gore's 43%. In 2004 Bush won the county by a much smaller margin. Bush won 51% to Kerry's 47%, a margin of only 4%. In 2006, Governor Ed Rendell and Bob Casey Jr. both carried Centre, and Democrat Scott Conklin decisively won the State House seat left open by the retirement of Republican Lynn Herman in the 77th district. In 2008, Democrats captured the countywide registration edge, Barack Obama carried the county with 55% of the vote to McCain's 44%, and Democratic statewide winners (Rob McCord for Treasurer and Jack Wagner for Auditor General also carried Centre).

2020 presidential election, shaded by city and township
Biden:     50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Trump:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

In 2012, Barack Obama won the county in his reelection campaign by a very narrow margin, 48.9% to 48.65%, a difference of just 175 votes.^[19] In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Republican nominee Donald Trump 47.76% to 45.86%.^[20] In the same election, incumbent Republican Senator Pat Toomey beat Democratic opponent Katie McGinty 47.91% to 46.2% in the county.^[20]

Voter registration

As of February 7, 2024, there were 100,829 registered voters in Centre County.^[21]

• Democratic: 42,280 (41.93%)
• Republican: 40,918 (40.58%)
• Non-affiliated: 13,839 (13.73%)
• Third Parties: 3,792 (3.76%)

Education

Old Main, the main administrative building of Penn State, at University Park, July 2006

Colleges and universities

• Pennsylvania State University

Community, junior, and technical colleges

• South Hills School of Business & Technology
• Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, public Vo Tech in Pleasant Gap

Public school districts

Map of Centre County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

School districts include:^[22]

• Bald Eagle Area School District
• Bellefonte Area School District
• Keystone Central School District (also in Clinton County)
• Penns Valley Area School District
• Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District (also in Clearfield County)
• State College Area School District
• Tyrone Area School District (also in Blair County and Huntingdon County)

Public charter schools

• Young Scholars of Central PA Charter School
• Centre Learning Community Charter School
• Nittany Valley Charter School
• There are 13 public cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania that are available for free statewide, to children K-12. See: Education in Pennsylvania.

Private schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education 2010.

• Bower Hollow Parochial School – Woodward
• Elk Creek School – Rebersburg
• Faith Christian Academy – Philipsburg
• Grace Prep – Ferguson
• Hill Side School – Rebersburg
• Hubler Ridge School – Bellefonte
• Kramer Gap School – Spring Mills
• Little Nittany Amish Parochial School – Howard
• Mountain View School – Rebersburg
• Nittany Christian School – State College
• Our Lady of Victory School – State College
• Park Forest Montessori School - Patton
• Peach Lane Amish School – Madisonburg
• Penns Valley Amish Paroch School – Woodward
• Rockville School – Rebersburg
• Spring Bank School – Rebersburg
• St John Evangelist School – Bellefonte
• St. Joseph's Academy – Boalsburg
• State College Friends School – State College
• Sunny Meadow Parochial School – Howard
• Sunset View School – Howard
• Sunset View School – Rebersburg
• Windy Poplars School – Centre Hall
• Woodside Amish School – Spring Mills

Libraries

• Centre County Libraries
  • Centre County Library & Historical Museum – Bellefonte
  • Centre Hall Area Branch Library – Centre Hall
  • Holt Memorial Library – Philipsburg
  • Centre County Bookmobile
• American Philatelic Research Library
• Schlow Centre Region Library

Pennsylvania State University libraries

• Pattee Library
• Paterno Library
• Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library
• Earth and Mineral Sciences Library
• Engineering Library
• Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library

Transportation

Airport

State College Regional Airport offers daily commercial and general aviation flights. United Express and American Eagle service the airport currently with nonstop flights to Philadelphia, Washington-Dulles, and Chicago-O'Hare.

Major highways

• I-80
• I-99
• US 322
• 
  US 322 Bus.
• US 220
• 
  US 220 Alt.
• PA 26
• PA 45
• PA 64
• PA 144
• PA 150
• PA 192

Recreation

An apple tree and meadow at Bald Eagle State Park, October 2009

Black Moshannon State Park, December 2011

There are six Pennsylvania state parks in Centre County.

• Bald Eagle State Park is the largest state park in Centre County with 5,900-acre (2,400-hectare). It is on Pennsylvania Route 150 between Milesburg and Lock Haven.
• Black Moshannon State Park, west of State College has a bog with three species of carnivorous plants and 17 orchid varieties.
• McCalls Dam State Park is a small park on a dirt road in the easternmost area of the eastern tip of the county.
• Penn-Roosevelt State Park is the site of a former segregated CCC camp for African American men.
• Poe Paddy State Park is at the confluence of Big Poe Creek and Penns Creek.
• Poe Valley State Park is in an isolated valley surrounding 25 acre Poe Lake.

Media

Centre County's main daily newspaper is the Centre Daily Times (part of the McClatchy Company chain). Alternative newspapers include the Centre County Gazette and State College City Guide. Newspapers of Pennsylvania State University's main campus include the student-run Daily Collegian.^[23] Magazines in the area include Town & Gown,^[24] State College Magazine,^[25] Good Life in Happy Valley,^[26] Blue White Illustrated, Pennsylvania Business Central, and Voices of Central Pennsylvania.^[27] The radio market of Centre County is ranked #257 in the nation. Some of the more popular stations include WPSU, WKPS, WZWW, WLEJ, WFGE, WNLI, WRSC-FM, WBHV, WOWY, and WBUS.

Centre County is part of the Johnstown/Altoona/State College television market, which is currently ranked #99 in the nation. Television stations broadcasting out of State College are WPSU (PBS) and WHVL-LD (MyNetworkTV) as well as C-NET, Centre County's Government and Education Access Television Network, which broadcasts on two channels: CGTV (Government Access TV) and CETV (Educational Access TV). Johnstown-based WJAC-TV (NBC) and Altoona-based WTAJ-TV (CBS) maintain satellite studios and offices.

Communities

Map of Centre County, Pennsylvania with municipal labels showing boroughs (red), townships (white), and census-designated places (blue)

Under Pennsylvania law, there are five types of incorporated municipalities: cities, home rule municipalities, boroughs, townships, and in at most two cases, towns. These are the municipalities, boroughs and townships in Centre County:

Home rule municipalities

• Ferguson Township (Happy Valley)
• State College (Happy Valley)

Boroughs

• Bellefonte (county seat)
• Centre Hall
• Howard
• Milesburg
• Millheim
• Philipsburg
• Port Matilda
• Snow Shoe
• Unionville

Townships

• Benner
• Boggs
• Burnside
• College (Happy Valley)
• Curtin
• Ferguson (Happy Valley)
• Gregg
• Haines
• Halfmoon
• Harris (Happy Valley)
• Howard
• Huston
• Liberty
• Marion
• Miles
• Patton (Happy Valley)
• Penn
• Potter
• Rush
• Snow Shoe
• Spring
• Taylor
• Union
• Walker
• Worth

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may also be listed here.

• Aaronsburg
• Baileyville
• Blanchard
• Boalsburg
• Casanova
• Clarence
• Coburn
• Continental Courts
• Eagle Creek
• Eagleville
• Holters Crossing
• Houserville
• Hublersburg
• Jacksonville
• Julian
• Lemont
• Madisonburg
• Mingoville
• Monument
• Moose Run
• Moshannon
• Mount Eagle
• Nittany
• North Philipsburg
• Orviston
• Park Forest Village
• Peru
• Pine Glen
• Pine Grove Mills
• Pleasant Gap
• Potters Mills
• Ramblewood
• Rebersburg
• Runville
• Sandy Ridge
• Snydertown
• South Philipsburg
• Spring Mills
• Stormstown
• Toftrees
• Woodward
• Yarnell
• Zion

Other communities

• Axemann
• Cato
• Centennial
• Chemical
• Coleville
• Colyer
• Fillmore
• Fishermans Paradise
• Gatesburg
• Graysdale
• Gum Stump
• Ingleby (ghost town)
• Linden Hall
• Livonia
• Marengo
• Martha Furnace
• Millbrook
• Oak Hall
• Old Fort
• Overlook Heights
• Panorama
• Penn Five
• Pine Hall
• Rock Springs
• Scotia (ghost town)
• Shingletown
• Skytop
• Spike Island
• Struble
• Tusseyville
• University Park
• Waddle
• Woodycrest

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Centre County.^[14]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	State College	Borough	42,034
2	Park Forest Village	CDP	9,660
3	† Bellefonte	Borough	6,187
4	Boalsburg	CDP	3,722
5	Pleasant Gap	CDP	2,879
6	Philipsburg	Borough	2,770
7	Stormstown	CDP	2,366
8	Lemont	CDP	2,270
9	Toftrees	CDP	2,053
10	Zion	CDP	2,030
11	Houserville	CDP	1,814
12	Pine Grove Mills	CDP	1,502
13	Centre Hall	Borough	1,265
14	Milesburg	Borough	1,123
15	Millheim	Borough	904
16	Ramblewood	CDP	849
17	Snow Shoe	Borough	765
18	Blanchard	CDP	740
19	Howard	Borough	720
20	North Philipsburg	CDP	660
21	Nittany	CDP	658
22	Clarence	CDP	626
23	Aaronsburg	CDP	613
24	Port Matilda	Borough	606
25	Mingoville	CDP	503
26	Rebersburg	CDP	494
27	Snydertown	CDP	483
28	South Philipsburg	CDP	410
29	Sandy Ridge	CDP	407
30	Eagleville	CDP	324
31	Unionville	Borough	291
32	Moshannon	CDP	281
33	Spring Mills	CDP	268
34	Coburn	CDP	236
35	Baileyville	CDP	201
36	Pine Glen	CDP	190
37	Madisonburg	CDP	168
38	Julian	CDP	152
39	Monument	CDP	150
40	Woodward	CDP	110
41	Hublersburg	CDP	104
42	Mount Eagle	CDP	103
T-43	Jacksonville	CDP	95
T-43	Orviston	CDP	95

See also

• Pennsylvania portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Centre County, Pennsylvania