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Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

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Lehigh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1812 from parts of Northampton County. As of 2000, the population of the county is 312,090. Its county seat is Allentown6.

Lehigh County is named after the Lehigh River (whose name is derived from the Delaware Indian term Lechauweki or Lechauwekink, meaning "where there are forks") , which runs through the county's two largest cities, Allentown and Bethlehem. It is located in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the eastern part of the state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 348 square miles (902 km²), of which, 347 square miles (898 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.48%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 312,090 people, 121,906 households, and 82,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 900 people per square mile (348/km²). There were 128,910 housing units at an average density of 372 per square mile (144/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.02% White, 3.56% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.28% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. 10.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27.1% were of German, 7.9% Italian, 7.7% Irish, 6.2% Pennsylvania German and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 85.0% spoke English, 8.4% Spanish and 1.2% Arabic as their first language.

There were 121,906 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

Politics

As of November 2007, there are 205,974 registered voters in Lehigh County

Despite the advantage in Democratic voter registration, Lehigh County is part of the PA-15 which elected Republicans Charlie Dent in 2004 and 2006 and Pat Toomey in 1998, 2000, and 2002 to Congress. In 2004, however, the county did narrowly vote for John Kerry over George W. Bush for President. The 15th Congressional district is generally considered one of the most contentious "swing districts" nationally, with neither Republicans nor Democrats winning the district consistently.

Famous people from Lehigh County

Lehigh County is the birthplace of several famous Americans, including:

Municipalities

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

Cities

Boroughs
  • Emmaus
  • Fountain Hill
  • Macungie
  • Slatington

    • Townships
  • Lynn Township
  • North Whitehall Township
  • Salisbury Township
  • South Whitehall Township
  • Upper Macungie Township
    		•
  • Upper Milford Township
  • Upper Saucon Township
  • Washington Township
  • Weisenberg Township
  • Whitehall Township

    • 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.

    Census-designated places

    Notable Villages
  • Fogelsville
  • Germansville
  • Ironton
  • Kuhnsville
  • Lanark
  • Laurys Station
  • Limeport
  • Lynnport
    		•
  • Mechanicsville
  • Meyersville
  • Neffs
  • New Tripoli
  • Orefield
  • Pleasant Corners
  • Sherersville
    		•
  • Shimerville
  • Slatedale
  • Summit Lawn
  • Trexlertown
  • Vera Cruz
  • Walbert
  • Wescosville

    • Education

    4-Year Colleges and Universities

    2-Year Colleges and Technical Institutes

    • Baum School of Art, Allentown
    • Lehigh Carbon Community College - Donley Center, Allentown
    • Lehigh Carbon Community College - Main Campus, Schnecksville
    • Lehigh Valley College, Center Valley
    • Lincoln Technical Institute, Allentown

    Public school districts and schools

    Non-public high schools and charter schools

    Transportation

    Air transportation

    Air transport to and from Lehigh County is available through Lehigh Valley International Airport .

    Bus transportation

    Public bus service in Lehigh County is available through the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, known as LANTA.

    Road transportation

    Interstates

    US Highway System

    Pennsylvania Highway System

    Other roads

    Lehigh County media

    The Lehigh County is part of the Philadelphia broadcast media market, though numerous New York City radio and television stations also are available in Allentown and its suburbs. Lehigh County-based media include The Morning Call, a daily newspaper in Allentown, and two Allentown-based television stations: WLVT Channel 39 (a PBS affiliate) and WFMZ Channel 69 (an unaffiliated, independent television station).

    Lehigh County-area radio stations include WAEB-AM, a news, talk and sports station (in Allentown), WAEB-FM (known as B104), a Top 40 music station (in Allentown), WKAP, an oldies music station (in Allentown), and WZZO (known as Z-95), a hard rock music station (in Whitehall Township).

    References

    External links



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    Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 18:30:29 PDT (GMT -0700)
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