Clarion County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,241. Its county seat is Clarion. The county was formed on March 11, 1839, from parts of Venango and Armstrong counties. Clarion County is entirely defined as part of the Pittsburgh media market. The county is part of the North Central region of the commonwealth.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. It has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb), and average temperatures in Clarion borough range from 24.5 °F in January to 82 °F in July. Clarion County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of the "Midlands" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.
Adjacent counties
- Forest County (north)
- Jefferson County (east)
- Armstrong County (south)
- Butler County (west)
- Venango County (west)
Parks
Part of Cook Forest State Park is in Clarion County.
The Clarion County Park is located in Paint Township. Clarion County Veterans Memorial Park is located directly across Main Street (Route 322) from the Clarion County Courthouse in the center of the Borough of Clarion.
Major highways
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 37,241, a population density of , 15,298 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The median age was 43.6 years, 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18, 21.6% were 65 years of age or older, there were 95.6 males for every 100 females, and there were 93.1 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 94.4% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.0% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.0% of the population.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Clarion County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|40,867
|38,724
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35,023
|97.84%
|96.83%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |94.04%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|325
|468
|style='background: #ffffe6; |521
|0.77%
|1.17%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.39%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|44
|45
|style='background: #ffffe6; |39
|0.10%
|0.11%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|141
|191
|style='background: #ffffe6; |175
|0.33%
|0.47%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|2
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15
|0.00%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|9
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |111
|0.02%
|0.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.29%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|205
|286
|style='background: #ffffe6; |970
|0.49%
|0.71%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.60%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|172
|245
|style='background: #ffffe6; |387
|0.41%
|0.61%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.03%
|-
|Total
|41,765
|39,988
|style='background: #ffffe6; |37,241
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
Government
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|}
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Voter registration
As of February 6, 2024, there are 23,414 registered voters in Clarion County.
- Republican: 14,959 (63.89%)
- Democratic: 5,788 (24.72%)
- Independent: 1,946 (8.31%)
- Third Party: 721 (3.08%)
County commissioners
- Wayne Brosius; Republican
- Ted Tharan; Republican
- Braxton White; Democrat
Other county officials
- Hon. James G. Arner, senior judge, Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
- Hon. Sara Seidle-Patton, president judge, Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
- Duane L. Quinn (18-3-01), district judge
- Timothy P. Schill (18-3-02), district judge
- Jarah L Heeter (18-3-03), district judge
- Jeffery C. Miller (18-3-04), district judge
- Drew Welsh; Republican, District Attorney
- Shawn Zerfoss; Republican, Sheriff
- Karyn Montana; Republican, Treasurer
State senate
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!District !! Senator !! Party
|-
|21 || Scott E. Hutchinson || Republican
|}
State House of Representatives
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!District !! Representative !! Party
|-
|63 || Josh Bashline || Republican
|}
United States House of Representatives
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!District !! Representative !! Party
|-
| 15 || Glenn Thompson || Republican
|}
United States Senate
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Senator !! Party
|-
| John Fetterman || Democrat
|-
| Dave McCormick || Republican
|}
Education
thumb|270px|Map of Clarion County public school districts
Colleges and universities
- PennWest Clarion
Public school districts
- Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District
- Clarion Area School District
- Clarion-Limestone Area School District
- Karns City Area School District
- Keystone School District
- North Clarion County School District
- Redbank Valley School District
- Union School District
Intermediate unit
Public school districts and private schools in the county are served by Riverview Intermediate Unit IU6 which provides special education and professional development services.
Technical school
Clarion County Career Center is located along State Route 66 in Marianne (Shippenville address).
Private schools
- Alexander Amish School - Venus
- Bear Run School - Knox
- Christs Dominion Academy - Summerville
- Clarion Center School - Clarion
- County Corner - Knox
- Deer View School - Mayport
- Immaculate Conception School - Clarion
- Little Bird Preschool - New Bethlehem
- Meadow View Amish School - Knox
- New Bethlehem Mennonite School - New Bethlehem
- Shady Nook Amish School - Sligo
- St Josephs School - Lucinda
- Zacheral Amish School - Venus
Communities
right|thumb|270px|Map of Clarion County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red) and Townships (white)
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Clarion County:
Boroughs
- Callensburg
- Clarion (county seat)
- East Brady
- Foxburg
- Hawthorn
- Knox
- New Bethlehem
- Rimersburg
- Shippenville
- Sligo
- St. Petersburg
- Strattanville
Townships
- Ashland
- Beaver
- Brady
- Clarion
- Elk
- Farmington
- Highland
- Knox
- Licking
- Limestone
- Madison
- Millcreek
- Monroe
- Paint
- Perry
- Piney
- Porter
- Redbank
- Richland
- Salem
- Toby
- Washington
Census-designated places
- Crown
- Leeper
- Marianne
- Tylersburg
- Vowinckel
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Clarion County.
† county seat
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2020 Census)
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 1
| † Clarion
| Borough
| 3,931
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 2
| Marianne
| CDP
| 1,063
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 3
| Knox
| Borough
| 1,093
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 4
| New Bethlehem
| Borough
| 978
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 5
| Rimersburg
| Borough
| 942
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 6
| East Brady
| Borough
| 818
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 7
| Sligo
| Borough
| 681
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 8
| Strattanville
| Borough
| 537
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 9
| Hawthorn
| Borough
| 477
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 10
| Shippenville
| Borough
| 442
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 11
| St. Petersburg
| Borough
| 336
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 12
| Callensburg
| Borough
| 150
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 13
| Tylersburg
| CDP
| 196
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| T-14
| Foxburg
| Borough
| 181
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| T-14
| Crown
| CDP
| 265
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 15
| Leeper
| CDP
| 136
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 16
| Vowinckel
| CDP
| 130
|}
Notable people
- Marietta Bones (1842–1901) - suffragist, social reformer, philanthropist
- Fred Caligiuri (1918–2018) - Major League Baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Athletics, 1941, 1942); as of 2018 was the oldest living major-league player; born in Forest County; former resident of Knox and Rimersburg
- Hunter Corbett - pioneer American Presbyterian missionary to China, ministered in China for 56 years
- Jim Kelly - NFL athlete (Buffalo Bills); grew up in East Brady
- Chris Kirkpatrick - musician ('N Sync); born in Clarion
- Dominick Labino - glass artist; born in Fairmount City (Redbank Township); managed the Owens-Illinois glass plant in Clarion
- Ossee Schreckengost - Major League Baseball player; born in New Bethlehem
- Randall Silvis - author and screenwriter; born in Madison Township
- Grace M. Sloan (1902–2001), Pennsylvania state treasurer and auditor general; born in Clarion
- Ernest M. Skinner - pipe organ builder, inventor; born in Clarion
- Jane Wolfe - silent film actress and thelemite; born in St. Petersburg
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Clarion County, Pennsylvania
- Oil Creek Library District