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| Perry County, Pennsylvania | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Pennsylvania |
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 Pennsylvania's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | March 22, 1820 |
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| Seat | New Bloomfield |
| Largest borough | Marysville |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
556 sq mi (1,440 km²) 551 sq mi (1,427 km²) 4.1 sq mi (11 km²), 0.7% |
| PopulationEst. - (2015) - Density |
45,685 83/sq mi (32/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website: www.perryco.org | |
| Named for: Oliver Hazard Perry | |
Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,969. The county seat is New Bloomfield. The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named after Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812 who had recently died. It was originally part of Cumberland County and was created in part because residents did not want to travel over the mountain to Carlisle (the county seat of Cumberland County).
Perry County is included in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In 2010, the center of population of Pennsylvania was located in the eastern end of Perry County. Green Park, an incorporated village located in northeastern Tyrone Township, serves as Perry County’s midpoint between the Conococheague Mountain in the west and the Susquehanna River to the east.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 556 square miles (1,440 km2), of which 551 square miles (1,430 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km2) (0.7%) is water.
US 11 / US 15
US 22 / US 322| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1820 | 11,342 | — | |
| 1830 | 14,261 | 25.7% | |
| 1840 | 17,096 | 19.9% | |
| 1850 | 20,088 | 17.5% | |
| 1860 | 22,793 | 13.5% | |
| 1870 | 25,447 | 11.6% | |
| 1880 | 27,522 | 8.2% | |
| 1890 | 26,276 | −4.5% | |
| 1900 | 26,263 | 0.0% | |
| 1910 | 24,136 | −8.1% | |
| 1920 | 22,875 | −5.2% | |
| 1930 | 21,744 | −4.9% | |
| 1940 | 23,213 | 6.8% | |
| 1950 | 24,782 | 6.8% | |
| 1960 | 26,582 | 7.3% | |
| 1970 | 28,615 | 7.6% | |
| 1980 | 35,718 | 24.8% | |
| 1990 | 41,172 | 15.3% | |
| 2000 | 43,609 | 5.9% | |
| 2010 | 45,969 | 5.4% | |
| Est. 2015 | 45,685 | −0.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 |
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As of the census of 2000, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 79 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.54% White, 0.43% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.8% were of German, 16.4% American, 7.8% Irish and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.8% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language.
There were 16,695 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01. There is also a high population of Amish.
In Perry County, the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.
Perry County's live birth rate was 609 births in 1990. The County's live birth rate in 2000 had declined sharply to 511 births, while in 2011 it was 555 babies. Over the past 50 years (1960 to 2010), rural Pennsylvania saw a steady decline in both the number and proportion of residents under 18 years old. In 1960, 1.06 million rural residents, or 35 percent of the rural population, were children.
The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Perry County as the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. Census the metropolitan area ranked 6th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 96th most populous in the United States with a population of 549,475. Perry County is also a part of the larger Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the populations of Perry County as well as Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and York Counties in Pennsylvania. The Combined Statistical Area ranked 5th in the State of Pennsylvania and 43rd most populous in the United States with a population of 1,219,422.
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Perry County:
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Perry County.
† county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2010 Census) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marysville | Borough | 2,534 |
| 2 | Newport | Borough | 1,574 |
| 3 | Duncannon | Borough | 1,522 |
| 4 | † New Bloomfield | Borough | 1,247 |
| 5 | Liverpool | Borough | 955 |
| 6 | Millerstown | Borough | 673 |
| 7 | Blain | Borough | 263 |
| 8 | Landisburg | Borough | 218 |
| 9 | New Buffalo | Borough | 129 |
Act 13 of 2012, which levied a Marcellus Shale Impact Fee, was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett on February 14, 2012. In 2014, Perry County received an impact fee disbursement of $43,677.42. The top county recipient was Washington County which received $6,512,570.65 in 2014. In 2014, there were no marcellus shale wells in Perry County.
Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts
