The lands of the future Centre County were first recorded by James Potter in 1764. Potter, having reached the top of Nittany Mountain, and "...seeing the prairies and noble forest beneath him, cried out to his attendant, 'By heavens, Thompson, I have discovered an empire!'" [4] Centre County was created on February 13, 1800, by Act 2092 of the Pennsylvania Legislature from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, and Northumberland counties. The Act stated that its inhabitants “labour under great hardships, by reason of their great distance from the present seats of justice, and the public offices” of their current counties.[5] Its population was 4,112. Centre was among ten new counties carved from the existing twenty-six in early 1800. The county was named for its central location in the state.[6] (The American spelling of ‘center’ was yet to be popularized by Noah Webster’s dictionaries, the first edition of which appeared in 1806.)
As of the 2010 census,[12] there were 153,990 people, 57,573 households, and 31,256 families residing in the county. The population density was 139 people per square mile (54 people/km2). There were 63,297 housing units at an average density of 57 units per square mile (22/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 89.4% White, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 5.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 2.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 57,573 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the county, 15.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 28.9% was from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.1 males.
Centre County had for many years been a strongly Republican county, like most of rural Pennsylvania. In the early 21st century, however, it has been more competitive. In 2000 George W. Bush defeated Al Gore with 52% of the vote to Gore's 43%. In 2004 Bush won the county by a much smaller margin. Bush won 51% to Kerry's 47%, a margin of only 4%. In 2006, Governor Ed Rendell and Bob Casey Jr. both carried Centre, and Democrat Scott Conklin decisively won the State House seat left open by the retirement of Republican Lynn Herman in the 77th district. In 2008, Democrats captured the countywide registration edge, Barack Obama carried the county with 55% of the vote to McCain's 44%, and Democratic statewide winners (Rob McCord for Treasurer and Jack Wagner for Auditor General also carried Centre).
2020 presidential election, shaded by city and township Biden: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Trump: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
In 2012, Barack Obama won the county in his reelection campaign by a very narrow margin, 48.9% to 48.65%, a difference of just 175 votes.[19] In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Republican nominee Donald Trump 47.76% to 45.86%.[20] In that same election, incumbent Republican Senator Pat Toomey beat Democratic opponent Katie McGinty 47.91% to 46.2% in the county.[20]
Voter registration
As of February 7, 2024, there were 100,829 registered voters in Centre County.[21]
Numerous magazines are also published including Town & Gown,[24]State College Magazine,[25]Good Life in Happy Valley,[26]Blue White Illustrated, Pennsylvania Business Central, and Voices of Central Pennsylvania.[27]
The radio market of Centre County is ranked #257 in the nation. Some of the more popular stations include WPSU, WKPS, WZWW, WLEJ, WFGE, WNLI, WRSC-FM, WBHV, WOWY, and WBUS.
Centre County is part of the Johnstown/Altoona/State College television market, which is currently ranked #99 in the nation. Television stations broadcasting out of State College include WPSU (PBS) and WHVL-LD (MyNetworkTV) as well as C-NET, Centre County's Government and Education Access Television Network, which broadcasts on two channels: CGTV (Government Access TV) and CETV (Educational Access TV). Johnstown-based WJAC-TV (NBC) and Altoona-based WTAJ-TV (CBS) also maintain satellite studios and offices here.
Communities
Map of Centre County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).
Under Pennsylvania law, there are five types of incorporated municipalities: cities, home rule municipalities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following municipalities, boroughs and townships are in Centre County:
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 also be listed here.
^Includes Centre, Lycoming, Northumberland, Columbia, Mifflin, Union, Snyder, Clinton, Juniata and Montour Counties
^"PHMC Historical Markers Search". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original(Searchable database) on March 21, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
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