Milton, Pennsylvania

Milton, Pennsylvania
—  Borough  —
Milton's old railroad depot and current borough office.
Milton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Northumberland
Settled 1770
Incorporated (borough) 1817
Area
 • Total 3.8 sq mi (9.7 km2)
 • Land 3.5 sq mi (9.0 km2)
 • Water 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2)
Elevation 505 ft (154 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 6,650
 • Density 1,922.6/sq mi (742.1/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC)
Zip code 17847
Area code(s) 570
Website www.miltonpa.org

Milton is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, 50 miles (80 km) north of Harrisburg. Settled in 1770, it was incorporated in 1817, and is governed by a charter that was revised in 1890. Formerly, its extensive manufacturing plants included car and woodworking machinery shops, rolling, flour, knitting, planing, and saw mills; washer, nut, and bolt works; and furniture, shoe, couch, nail, fly net, bamboo novelty, and paper-box factories. In 1900, 6,175 people lived in Milton. In 1940, 8,313 people lived here. The population was 6,650 at the 2000 census.

Contents

Geography

Milton is located at (41.017413, -76.850758).[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2), of which, 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it (7.73%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 6,650 people, 2,762 households, and 1,748 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,922.6 people per square mile (742.1/km²). There were 3,000 housing units at an average density of 867.3 per square mile (334.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.81% White, 2.38% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.95% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.17% of the population.

There were 2,762 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $30,252, and the median income for a family was $38,438. Males had a median income of $30,636 versus $21,384 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,980. About 10.6% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Education

The local public school system is the Milton Area School District. It serves just over 2000 students. Enrollment is projected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to decline significantly over the next ten years. In 2005, Standard & Poors reported the district's student teacher ratio was 13.9 to 1.[4]

Milton High School has an 89.9% graduation rate according to the district report card 2005-2006. In 11th grade, 49.4% were proficient in math. For reading 63.2% were proficient in 2005-2006. The high school is ranked 374th out of 606 public high schools in Pennsylvania.

In 2007, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked the district 356th out of 499 Pennsylvania school districts based on three years of Pennsylvania System of Student Assessment test scores.[5]

The Montandon Elementary School earned a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Award for outstanding performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment for 2005. The students scored 97.7% proficient or better in mathematics and 72.4% proficient in reading.[6]

The Milton Area School Board set the budget at $24.8 million for 2007-2008. The board levies a variety of taxes to support its programs. Taxes include 48.39 mills real estate tax in 2007 for district properties located in Northumberland County. For properties located in White Deer Township, Union County the real estate property tax was set at 10.10 mills.[7]

Voters rejected a tax referendum in May 2007. The proposal increased local earned income tax to reduce property taxes for primary homeowners and farmers.[8]

By law, the local public school must provide transportation to schools within 10 miles (16 km) of the borders of the school district at no charge to the student.[9]

Several alternative schools, including parochial and charter, are available in the region.

Crime

2006

In 2006 the following crime statistics were reported to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System by the city police department:

Criminal Homicide - 1
Sex related offenses - 12
Robbery - 1
Assaults - 69
Property Offenses - 218
Arson - 2
Drug Violations - 15
Total Alcohol Crimes - 61

Source: Are You Aware? Pennsylvania State Police Focus Report 2006.


2007

In 2007 the following crime statistics were reported to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System by the city police department:

Criminal Homicide - 0
Sex related offenses - 2
Robbery - 0
Assaults - 56
Property Offenses - 194
Arson - 2
Drug Violations - 14
Total Alcohol Crimes - 89

Source: Are You Aware? Pennsylvania State Police Focus Report 2007.


Notes and references

External links