| Columbia County, Pennsylvania | |
Location in the state of Pennsylvania |
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Pennsylvania's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 22, 1813 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Bloomsburg |
| Largest city | Bloomsburg |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
490 sq mi (1,269 km²) 486 sq mi (1,259 km²) 4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.87% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
67,295 138/sq mi (53.4/km²) |
| Website | www.columbiapa.org |
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 67,295.
Columbia County was created on March 22, 1813, from part of Northumberland County and named for Columbia, a poetic name for the United States that alludes to Christopher Columbus. Its county seat is Bloomsburg[1].
The county is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area.
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As of November 2008, there are 47,252 registered voters in Columbia County [1].
While the county registration tends to be evenly matched between Democrats and Republicans, the county trends Republican in statewide elections. While John McCain received 51.6% of its vote to 47.1% for Barack Obama, this was a far-closer margin than the 20 points that George W. Bush carried it by in 2004. Each of the three row-office statewide winners carried Columbia in 2008. In 2006, Democrat Bob Casey Jr. received 51% of its vote when he unseated incumbent Republican US Senator Rick Santorum and Ed Rendell received 50.6% of the vote against Lynn Swann.
For many years Columbia County was represented in the State House by a conservative Democrat in the 109th district until John Gordner changed parties to Republican in 2001. He was elected to the State Senate in 2003 and succeeded by Republican David R. Millard. Columbia is in the 27th Senate district and 11th Congressional district.
| District | Senator | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | John Gordner | Republican |
| District | Senator | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 107 | Kurt Masser | Republican |
| 109 | David R. Millard | Republican |
| 117 | Karen Boback | Republican |
| District | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Lou Barletta | Republican Party |
| Senator | Party |
|---|---|
| Pat Toomey | Republican |
| Bob Casey | Democrat |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 490 square miles (1,269.1 km2), of which 486 square miles (1,258.7 km2) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km2) (0.87%) is water.
Part of Ricketts Glen State Park is in the northern portion of Columbia County.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1820 | 17,621 |
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| 1830 | 20,059 | 13.8% | |
| 1840 | 24,267 | 21.0% | |
| 1850 | 17,710 | −27.0% | |
| 1860 | 25,065 | 41.5% | |
| 1870 | 28,766 | 14.8% | |
| 1880 | 32,409 | 12.7% | |
| 1890 | 36,832 | 13.6% | |
| 1900 | 39,896 | 8.3% | |
| 1910 | 48,467 | 21.5% | |
| 1920 | 48,349 | −0.2% | |
| 1930 | 48,803 | 0.9% | |
| 1940 | 51,413 | 5.3% | |
| 1950 | 53,460 | 4.0% | |
| 1960 | 53,489 | 0.1% | |
| 1970 | 55,114 | 3.0% | |
| 1980 | 61,967 | 12.4% | |
| 1990 | 63,202 | 2.0% | |
| 2000 | 64,148 | 1.5% | |
| 2010 | 67,295 | 4.9% | |
| [2][3] | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile (51/km²). There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile (22/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.59% White, 0.80% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.2% were of German, 10.0% American, 9.4% Irish, 8.1% Italian, 6.7% Polish and 6.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 24,915 households out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the county, the population was spread out with 20.80% under the age of 18, 14.30% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following town, boroughs and townships are located in Columbia 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 be listed here as well.
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