Blair County, Pennsylvania

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 527 sqmi, of which 526 sqmi is land and 1.3 sqmi (0.2%) is water. Blair County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

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)

Major highways

Climate

Blair has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb). |Jan record high F = 78 |Feb record high F = 76 |Mar record high F = 85 |Apr record high F = 91 |May record high F = 94 |Jun record high F = 97 |Jul record high F = 103 |Aug record high F = 102 |Sep record high F = 96 |Oct record high F = 90 |Nov record high F = 82 |Dec record high F = 12 |year record high F= 103 |Jan record low F = −29 |Feb record low F = −25 |Mar record low F = −7 |Apr record low F = 8 |May record low F = 20 |Jun record low F = 32 |Jul record low F = 38 |Aug record low F = 34 |Sep record low F = 26 |Oct record low F = 15 |Nov record low F = 0 |Dec record low F = −13 |year record low F= −29

Demographics

| align-fn = center

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 122,822. The median age was 44.3 years, with 19.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 22.3% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 92.5% White, 2.1% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian,

74.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 25.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 51,227 households in the county, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.9% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 55,700 housing units, of which 8.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.7% were owner-occupied and 30.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.9%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 127,089 people and 52,159 households within the county. The population density was 246 /mi2. There were 55,061 housing units at an average density of 105 /mi2. 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.

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.

Law and government

Blair County has been a Republican Party stronghold since the party was founded. Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 are the only Democratic presidential candidates to date to win the county (with neither taking more than 52% of the county's vote), although Theodore Roosevelt won it as the candidate of the Progressive Party in 1912. In 2016 and 2024, it played a crucial role in helping Donald Trump carry Pennsylvania.

County commissioners

• David Kessling, chair, Republican
• Laura Burke, Vice-chair, Democrat
• Amy Webster, Secretary, Republican

Other county offices

• Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Robin Patton, Republican
• Controller, A.C. Stickel, Republican
• Coroner, Ray Benton, Republican
• District Attorney, Pete Weeks, Republican
• Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds, Anita Terchanik, Republican
• Sheriff, James Ott, Republican
• Treasurer, James Carothers, Republican

Police agencies

• Allegheny Township Police
• Altoona City Police
• Altoona Area School District Police
• Amtrak Police Department
• Bellwood Borough Police
• Blair County District Attorneys Office
• Blair County Parole & Probation Office
• Blair County Sheriff's Office
• Blair Township Police
• Central Pennsylvania Humane Society Police
• Duncansville Borough Police
• Freedom Township Police
• Greenfield Township Police
• Hollidaysburg Borough Police
• Logan Township Police
• Martinsburg Borough Police
• Norfolk Southern Railroad Police
• North Woodbury Township Police
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
• Pennsylvania Game Commission
• Pennsylvania State Police
• Pennsylvania State University Altoona Police
• Roaring Spring Borough Police
• Spring Cove School District Police
• Tyrone Borough Police
• Tyrone Area School District Police
• United States Postal Inspection Service
• UPMC Altoona Hospital Police
• Van Zandt VA Hospital Police
• Williamsburg Borough Police

State senate

• Judy Ward, Republican, Pennsylvania's 30th Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

• Louis C. Schmitt Jr., Republican, Pennsylvania's 79th Representative District
• Scott Barger, Republican, Pennsylvania's 80th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

• John Joyce, Republican, Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district

United States Senate

• John Fetterman, Democrat
• David McCormick, Republican

Politics

Voter registration

As of April 23, 2025 there are 81,144 registered voters in Blair County.

• Republican: 50,735 (62.52%)
• Democratic: 19,699 (24.28%)
• Independent: 7,946 (9.79%)
• Third party: 2,764 (3.41%)

Education

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

School districts include:

• 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.

Technology school

• Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center - Altoona

Private schools

• Alternative Education Program - Hollidaysburg
• Holy Trinity Middle School - Altoona
• Holy Trinity Elementary School - Altoona Campus
• Holy Trinity Elementary School - Hollidaysburg Campus
• Altoona Hospital School of Nursing
• Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School - Altoona
• Blair County Christian School - Duncansville
• Champion Life Christian Academy - Altoona
• Cove Lane Parochial School - Martinsburg
• Crawford Elementary at Adelphoi Village
• Emmanuel Baptist Christian School - Claysburg
• Faith Tabernacle School - Altoona
• Great Commission Schools - Altoona
• Harbor House Center Early Academy - Altoona
• Heritage Christian School - Martinsburg
• Hollidaysburg Catholic School - Hollidaysburg
• Living Water Christian Academy - Williamsburg
• Northwestern Human Services Autism School
• Penn Mont Academy - Hollidaysburg
• Penn Mont at Penn State Altoona
• Piney Creek Parochial School - New Enterprise
• Shady Grove School - Martinsburg
• Shady Pond School - Altoona
• St John Evangelist School - Altoona
• St Matthew School - Tyrone
• St Patrick School - Newry
• Sylvan Learning Center - Hollidaysburg
• Tender Love for Children - Altoona
• The Nehemiah Project - Altoona
• Training & Development Tech - Hollidaysburg
• White Oak School - Tyrone

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

Libraries

Blair County hosts a system of nine libraries that can be accessed with one library card. Resource sharing exists between the eight libraries. Books from any of the eight system libraries can be placed on hold and delivered to a patron's home library and then returned to any of the eight libraries in the system.

• Altoona Area Public Library - Altoona
• Bellwood Antis Public Library - Bellwood
• Blair County Library System - Altoona
• Claysburg Area Public Library - 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 in Frankstown Township.

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

Boroughs

• Bellwood
• Duncansville
• Hollidaysburg (county seat)
• Martinsburg
• Newry
• Roaring Spring
• Tunnelhill (mostly in Cambria County)
• Tyrone
• Williamsburg

Townships

• Allegheny
• Antis
• Blair
• Catharine
• Frankstown
• Freedom
• Greenfield
• Huston
• Juniata
• Logan
• North Woodbury
• Snyder
• Taylor
• Tyrone
• Woodbury

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 unincorporated communities and not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.

• Bald Eagle
• Beavertown
• Blue Knob
• Brooks Mill
• Canan Station
• Canoe Creek
• Carson Valley
• Charlottsville
• Clappertown
• Claysburg
• Cotton Town
• Cove Forge
• Cross Keys
• Culp
• Curryville
• Dumb Hundred
• East Altoona
• East Freedom
• East Sharpsburg
• Elberta
• Eldorado
• Fisherville
• Foot of Ten
• Fort Fetter
• Fostoria
• Franklin Forge
• Frankstown
• Fredericksburg
• Friesville
• Ganister
• Geeseytown
• Gray
• Grazierville
• Greenwood
• Henrietta
• Homewood at Martinsburg
• Ironville
• Jugtown
• Juniata Gap
• Klahr
• Lakemont
• Larke
• Leamersville
• Linds Crossing
• Loop
• Martinsburg Junction
• McKee
• Mill Run
• Millerstown
• Moores Mill
• Nealmont
• Newburg
• Northwood
• Olivia
• Ore Hill
• Oreminea
• Penn Farms
• Pinecroft
• Point View
• Puzzletown
• Red Hill
• Reese
• Reightown
• Reservoir
• Robeson Extension
• Roots
• Royer
• Shelltown
• Shellytown
• Sickles Corner
• Skelp
• Ski Gap
• Smith Corner
• Spring Drive Mobile Home Park
• Sproul
• St. Clair
• Sunbrook
• Sylvan Hills
• Tipton
• Tyrone Forge
• Vail
• Vicksburg
• Wopsononock
• Yellow Springs

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Blair County. † county seat

References

References

1. "Blair County, Pennsylvania".
2. "PHMC Historical Markers Search". Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
3. "Census - Geography Profile: Blair County, Pennsylvania". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
6. "About the Appalachian Region". Appalachian Regional Commission.
7. (July 30, 2018). "The Maps That Show That City vs. Country Is Not Our Political Fault Line". New York Times.
8. (2009). "Monthly Averages for Altoona, PA". psac.met.psu.
9. "Census 2020".
10. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
11. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
12. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
13. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Blair County, Pennsylvania". [[United States Census Bureau]].
14. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Blair County, Pennsylvania".
15. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Blair County, Pennsylvania".
16. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
17. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
18. (November 5, 2024). "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)".
19. Pennsylvania Department of State. (February 5, 2024). "Voter registration statistics by county".
20. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Blair County, PA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
21. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts".