Hanover Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17 km²), all of it land. It is drained by Monocacy Creek and Catasauqua Creek into the Lehigh River. Its villages include Hanoverville, Schoenersville (pronounced "SHAY-nerz-vil" and also in Lehigh County), Stoke Park, and Westgate Hills. Its numbered roads include the east-to-west Highway 22 and north-to-south Routes 512 and 987, which connect Bath with Bethlehem and Allentown as Bath Pike and Airport Road, respectively. Other local roads of note include east-to-west Hanoverville Road, Macada Road, and Stoke Park Road and north-to-south Jacksonville Road and Township Line Road. Hanover Township is a suburb of the city of Bethlehem which lies just to the north of the city. Officially has never been considered as a section of the city of Bethlehem, rather just a neighboring community with a strong connection to its large municipal neighbor to the south.

Neighboring municipalities

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,866 people, 4,245 households, and 3,144 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,634.9 people per square mile (631.0/km²). There were 4,245 housing units at an average density of 638.7/sq mi (250.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 87.12% White, 2.74% African American, 0.05% Native American, 6.53% Asian, 1.44% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.83% of the population.

There were 3,633 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the township the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $64,889, and the median income for a family was $72,661. Males had a median income of $53,158 versus $33,569 for females. The per capita income for the township was $29,370. About 2.0% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Hanover is represented in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as part of the 138th Legislative District. The 138th District consists of the townships of Bethlehem (Wards 1 and 4), Bushkill, East Allen, Hanover, Lower Nazareth, Moore and Plainfield; and the boroughs of Bath, Chapman, Pen Argyl and Wind Gap. The township is represented in the Pennsylvania Senate as part of the 40th District, which includes parts of Monroe and Northampton Counties. The township is patrolled by the Colonial Regional Police Department.

On the national level, Hanover is a part of Pennsylvania’s 15th congressional district, and is currently represented by Charles W. Dent. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate, is Bob Casey, Jr. who was elected in 2006. The junior (Class I) Senator, elected in 2010, is Patrick J. Toomey. Hanover is governed by the Board of Supervisors form of government, led by a township manager and a board of supervisors.

Public education

The township is served by the Bethlehem Area School District. Asa Packer and Hanover elementary schools are located within the Township. The charter school Lehigh Valley Academy [1], which uses the International Baccalaureate academic program, is also located in the township.