Perry County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,842. The county seat is New Bloomfield. The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812, who had recently died.Early History of Perry County 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. Landisburg became the temporary county seat before New Bloomfield was ultimately chosen. The county is part of the South Central Pennsylvania region of the state. Perry County is included in the Harrisburg–York–Lebanon combined statistical area. The county is served by the 717/223 area codes.
Geography
Green Park, an unincorporated 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.
The county terrain is formed by the folded Appalachian Mountain ridges which run from southwest to northeast across the county. The terrain slopes to the northeast, with its highest point on the Blue Mountain Ridge, which delineates the border between Perry and Cumberland counties. The ridge peaks at NE from Perry County's southmost corner; it measures ASL.Blue Mountain-Perry/Cumberland High Point, Pennsylvania (PeakBagger.com, accessed 25 May 2019) Perry County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of the "Midlands" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.
The county is drained by the south-flowing Susquehanna River, which forms almost all of its eastern boundary. The Juniata River enters Perry County from Juniata County near Millerstown, and flows southeast to its confluence with the Susquehanna River near Duncannon. The county also contains several creeks, runs, and lakes, which provide recreational and fishing opportunities, formerly powered mills throughout the county, and provided transport venues. To this day, canoeing and kayaking are forms of recreation which utilize the Shermans Creek and other waters in the county.
The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. The Appalachian Trail runs through the town of Duncannon. The county is also famous for being the northern head of the Tuscarora Trail.
Perry County has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and average monthly temperatures in New Bloomfield range from 28.5 °F in January to 73.2 °F in July. The hardiness zone is 6b except in Marysville where it is 7a ( ). Common trees include red maple, Virginia pine, oak, eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, birch, shagbark hickory, and juniper, though American sycamore, ironwood (ex: Hop-hornbeam, American Hornbeam), sugar maple, black walnut, elm, alder, black cherry, black locust, and sassafras are also fairly common. Mosses of various species are common sights, especially on fallen tree logs, along streams, on tree trunks, and in sidewalk cracks, usually growing in shaded areas. Ferns also grow along streams and in shaded areas, and are also commonly seen in Perry County woodlands.
Adjacent counties
Juniata County - north Northumberland County - northeast Dauphin County - east Cumberland County - south Franklin County - southwest
Major highways
Protected areas
Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area Fowlers Hollow State Park Little Buffalo State Park Colonel Denning State Park (part) Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area State Game Lands Number 88 State Game Lands Number 170 State Game Lands Number 256 State Game Lands Number 281 Tuscarora State Forest (part)
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Perry County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)35,48840,75842,77244,42742,83899.36%98.99%98.10%96.65%93.45%Black or African American alone (NH)28951822842890.08%0.23%0.42%0.62%0.63%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)15494558500.04%0.12%0.10%0.13%0.11%Asian alone (NH)3269651631390.09%0.17%0.15%0.35%0.30%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census3143xx0.01%0.03%0.01%Other race alone (NH)17725251390.05%0.02%0.06%0.05%0.30%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2094101,472xx0.48%0.89%3.21%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1381943015889120.39%0.47%0.69%1.28%1.99%Total35,71841,17243,60245,96945,842 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 45,842. The median age was 43.7 years. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% White, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.
6.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 93.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 18,083 households in the county, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.0% were married-couple households, 17.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 20.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 19,842 housing units, of which 8.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.8% were owner-occupied and 21.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.
2000 census As of the 2000 United States census, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families in the county. The population density was . There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of . 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. 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 Anabaptist communities, such as Amish and Mennonites.
The county population contained 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.
Metropolitan Statistical Area 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 census the metropolitan area ranked 6th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 96th most populous in the United States, with its population of 549,475. Perry County is also a part of the larger Harrisburg–York–Lebanon 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.
County government Commissioners R. Frank Campbell, Chair (R) Brenda L. Watson, Vice Chair (D) William "Bill" Lyons, Secretary (R) (as of January 2024)
Sheriff David Hammar, Republican
State Senate Greg Rothman, Republican, Pennsylvania's 34th Senate District
State House of Representatives Perry A. Stambaugh, Republican, Pennsylvania's 86th Representative District
United States House of Representatives John Joyce, Republican, Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district
United States Senate John Fetterman, Democrat Dave McCormick, Republican
Emergency services The county's emergency services are located in the basement of the Perry County Courthouse. The 911 center's coverage area includes almost all of Perry County and portions of Juniata and Dauphin counties.
Politics In 2016, Donald J. Trump received 73.07% of the presidential vote, compared to 21.67% to Hillary Clinton, and 5.26% for candidates Gary Johnson, write-ins, Jill Stein, and Darrell L. Castle, respectively. The county has voted for the Republican in every presidential election since 1964. In 2006, Lynn Swann received 9,998 votes (69%) to 4,477 votes (31%) for Ed Rendell, making it Swann's strongest county in his defeat. Rick Santorum also received more than 60% of the Perry County vote in his defeat.
Education Public School Districts Greenwood School District (also covers parts of Juniata County). Newport School District Susquenita School District (also covers parts of Dauphin County). West Perry School District Fannett-Metal School District (located in Franklin County, but covers parts of Perry County).
Intermediate unit The Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15 is a state approved education agency that offers to Perry County school districts, charter schools, private schools, and home school students, a variety of services including: a completely developed K-12 curriculum that is mapped and aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards (available online), shared services, a joint purchasing program and a wide variety of special education and special needs services.
Private schools As reported on EdNA (ED Names and Addresses) by the Pennsylvania Department of Education:
Blue Goose Children's Learning Center, Inc – Newport Carson Long Military Institute Clarks Run Parochial School – Blain Community Christian Academy – Newport Farm Lane School – Ickesburg Fowlers Hollow School – Blain Heritage Christian School – West Perry Honeysuckle Ridge School – Elliotsburg Kuddly Bear Child Care Center Inc. – Duncannon Loysville Youth Development Center – Loysville Manassa School – Blain Messiah Day Care Center – Elliottsburg Mountain View Parochial School – Ickesburg Perry View Parochial School – Landisburg Raccoon Valley Amish School – Millerstown Shermans View School – Loysville Stony Point School – Loysville Sunset Valley School – Millerstown
Trade schools Central Pennsylvania Diesel Institute – Liverpool
Public libraries New Bloomfield Public Library Community Library of Western Perry County Marysville-Rye Public Library Newport Public Library
Media Newspapers The county is home to four weekly newspapers, three published by Advance Publications of Perry and Juniata Counties, Inc. associated with The Patriot-News of Harrisburg: Duncannon Record, The News-Sun, and Perry County Times. Perry County Times and The Perry County Weekly is published by The Sentinel in Carlisle, Cumberland County, by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa.Cumberlink
Books