Harman Patil (Editor)

Blair County, Pennsylvania

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Founded
  
February 26, 1846

Time zone
  
Eastern: UTC-5/-4

Designated
  
April 13, 1982

Population
  
126,314 (2013)

Largest city
  
Altoona

Congressional district
  
9th

Website
  
www.blairco.org

Area
  
1,365 km²

County seat
  
Hollidaysburg

Blair County, Pennsylvania httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Destinations
  
Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Williamsburg

Colleges and Universities
  
Penn State Altoona, Greater Altoona Career a, YTI Career Institute‑Altoona, Altoona Beauty School Inc, The Salon Professional Academy

Points of interest
  
Lakemont Park, Railroaders Memorial Museum, DelGrosso's Amusement Park, Leap‑The‑Dips, Canoe Creek State Park

Blair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 127,089. Its county seat is Hollidaysburg. The county was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford Counties.

Contents

Map of Blair County, PA, USA

Blair County comprises the Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 527 square miles (1,360 km2), of which 526 square miles (1,360 km2) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2) (0.2%) is water.

Features

  • Brush Mountain
  • Logan Valley
  • Morrison Cove
  • Tussey Mountain

    • Adjacent counties

  • Centre County (north)
  • Huntingdon County (east)
  • Bedford County (south)
  • Cambria County (west)
  • Clearfield County (northwest)

    • National protected area

  • Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (part)

    • Demographics

    As of the census of 2000, there were 127,089 people and 52,159 households within the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile (95/km²). There were 55,061 housing units at an average density of 105 per square mile (40/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.18% White, 1.68% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.0% were of German, 12.2% Irish, 10.7% Italian, 9.9% American and 6.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

    There were 52,159 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.

    In the county, the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 19, 5.9% from 20 to 24, 11.1% from 25 to 34, 19.3% from 35 to 49, 21.4% from 50 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. The population was 48.55% male, and 51.45% female.

    County commissioners

  • Bruce Erb, Chair, Republican
  • Terry Tomassetti, Vice-chair, Republican
  • Ted Beam, Secretary, Democrat

    • Other county offices

  • Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Carol Newman, Republican
  • Controller, A.C. Stickel, Republican
  • Coroner, Patricia Ross, Republican
  • District Attorney, Richard Consiglio, Republican
  • Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds, Mary Ann Bennis, Republican
  • Sheriff, Mitch Cooper, Republican
  • Treasurer, James Carothers, Republican

    • State Senate

  • John Eichelberger, Republican, Pennsylvania's 30th Senatorial District

    • State House of Representatives

  • John McGinnis, Republican, Pennsylvania's 79th Representative District
  • Judy Ward, Republican, Pennsylvania's 80th Representative District

    • United States House of Representatives

  • Bill Shuster, Republican, Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district

    • United States Senate

  • Pat Toomey, Republican
  • Bob Casey, Democrat

    • Politics

    As of November 2014, there are 84,077 registered voters in Blair County.

  • Democratic: 27,875 (33.15%)
  • Republican: 45,573 (54.20%)
  • Libertarian: 473 (0.56%)
  • No Party Affiliation: 4,820 (5.73%)
  • Other: 5,336 (6.35%)

    • Colleges and universities

    Penn State Altoona

    Community, junior and technical colleges

  • South Hills School of Business and Technology
  • YTI Career Institute
  • Pennsylvania Highlands Community College

    • Public school districts

  • Altoona Area School District
  • Bellwood-Antis School District
  • Claysburg-Kimmel School District (also in Bedford County)
  • Hollidaysburg Area School District
  • Penn Cambria School District (also in Cambria County)
  • Spring Cove School District
  • Tyrone Area School District (also in Centre and Huntingdon Counties)
  • Williamsburg Community School District

    • Charter schools

  • Agora Cyber Charter School
  • Central Pennsylvania Digital Learning Foundation Charter School (K-12). Altoona.
  • There are 17 public cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania that are available statewide for free, to children K-12. See: Education in Pennsylvania.

    • Technology school

  • Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center - Altoona

    • Private schools

    Data taken from Pennsylvania EdNA - PDE database of public private schools 2012

    Libraries

  • Altoona Area Pub Library Media Center - Altoona
  • Altoona Area Public Library - Altoona
  • Bellwood Antis Public Library - Bellwood
  • Blair County Library System - Altoona
  • Claysburg Area Public Library Inc - Claysburg
  • Hollidaysburg Area Public Library - Hollidaysburg
  • Martinsburg Community Library - Martinsburg
  • Roaring Spring Community Library - Roaring Spring
  • Tyrone-Snyder Twnshp Pub Library - Tyrone
  • Williamsburg Public Library - Williamsburg

    • Recreation

    There is one Pennsylvania state park in Blair County.

  • Canoe Creek State Park

    • Communities

    Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Blair County:

    City

  • Altoona

    • 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 be listed here as well.

    Population ranking

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

    † county seat

    References

    Blair County, Pennsylvania Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA