Montgomery County, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Montgomery County
County
Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, May 2007
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Montco
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	September 10, 1784
Named for	Richard Montgomery or Montgomeryshire
Seat	Norristown
Largest municipality	Lower Merion Township
Area
• Total	487 sq mi (1,260 km2)
• Land	483 sq mi (1,250 km2)
• Water	4.2 sq mi (11 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	856,553
• Estimate  (2022)	864,683
• Density	1,773/sq mi (685/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 4th, 5th

Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia and Allegheny counties. The county is part of the Southeast Pennsylvania region of the state.

The county seat and largest city is Norristown. The county is part of the Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington PA-NJ–DE–MD metropolitan statistical area, known as the Delaware Valley, and marks the Delaware Valley's northern border with the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

The county borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, to its southeast, Bucks County to its east, Berks and Lehigh counties to its north, Delaware County to its south, and Chester County to its southwest.

The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part of Philadelphia County. The first courthouse was housed in the Barley Sheaf Inn. It is believed to have been named either for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, or for the Welsh county of Montgomeryshire, which was named after one of William the Conqueror's main counselors, Roger de Montgomerie, since it was part of the Welsh Tract, an area of Pennsylvania settled by Quakers from Wales.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 487 square miles (1,260 km²), 483 square miles (1,250 km²) of which was land and 4.2 square miles (11 km²) (0.9%) of which was water.

Adjacent counties

• Lehigh County (north)
• Bucks County (northeast)
• Philadelphia County (southeast)
• Delaware County (southwest)
• Chester County (west)
• Berks County (northwest)

National protected area

• Valley Forge National Historical Park (part)

County-owned parks

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county was 73.27% White (72.18% White, non-Hispanic), 9.55% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American or Alaskan Native, 7.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, and 2.87% some other race; 6.13% were two or more races. 6.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The largest townships/boroughs in Montgomery County include:

Economy

Montgomery County ranges from the densely populated rowhouse streets of Cheltenham Township (top) to the forests and open land around Perkiomen Creek in the northern part of the county (bottom).

Montgomery County is a suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city. Many Montco residents work in the city, but the county is also a major employment center with large business parks in Blue Bell, Lansdale, Fort Washington, Horsham, and King of Prussia attracting thousands of workers from all over the region. The strong job base and taxes generated by those jobs have resulted in Montgomery County receiving the highest credit rating of 'AAA' from Standard & Poor's, one of fewer than 30 counties in the United States with such a rating. In 2012, Moody's downgraded the general obligation rating to Aa1, and in 2018 the rating was revised back to Aaa.

Major employers include:

Education

Colleges and universities

Public school districts

Map of Montgomery County public school districts

School districts:

Private secondary schools

Night schools/adult education

• Abington Township Adult School
• Cheltenham Township Adult School

Communities

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

Under Pennsylvania law, five types of incorporated municipalities are listed: cities, boroughs, townships, home rule municipalities (which can include communities that bear the name "Borough" or "Township") and, in at most two cases, towns. These boroughs, townships, and home rule municipalities are located in Montgomery County:

Home rule municipalities

• Bryn Athyn
• Cheltenham Township
• Horsham Township
• Norristown (county seat)
• Plymouth Township
• Whitemarsh Township

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

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

Even though the historic village of Valley Forge, as well as the park, are partially located within Montgomery County, the modern village is in Chester County, PA

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Montgomery County.

† county seat

Transportation

Major roads and highways

I-276/Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound at the Interstate 476/Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension in Montgomery County

Public transportation

The county is served by the SEPTA, which include bus, commuter rail, and interurban rail services. Pottstown Area Rapid Transit (PART) also provides bus services around the Pottstown area in the western portion of the county.

• SEPTA
  • City Division and Suburban Division bus routes
  • Regional Rail's Cynwyd, Lansdale/Doylestown, Manayunk/Norristown, Paoli/Thorndale, Warminster, and West Trenton lines
  • Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), an interurban light rapid transit line connecting the Norristown Transportation Center to 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, Delaware County

Airports

Commercial airline service is provided primarily by Philadelphia International Airport, one of the nation's largest commercial airports, located in Philadelphia and Delaware counties.

Other public use airports include Heritage Field in Limerick Township, Wings Field in Blue Bell, and Pottstown Municipal Airport in Pottstown.

Culture

• The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a nonprofit organization founded by Glenn Doman, was established in Wyndmoor in 1955. The IAHP is an educational organization that teaches parents about child brain development, and is a treatment center for brain-injured children.
• The Old York Road Symphony, based in Abington, is one of the oldest all-volunteer orchestras in the country, founded in 1932.

Climate

The majority of the county has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa). In most southern areas of the county and along the Schuylkill River including Pottstown a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) exists. The hardiness zone is 7a for the majority of the county and 7b in most areas south of Interstate 276. 6b only continues to exist in some very small higher areas in the north. [1]

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Montgomery (Pensilvania) para niños