Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, forming the Mason-Dixon Line, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio to its west, the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie, New York to its north, and the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east. Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia, and the state capital is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the country, with over 13 million residents as of the 2020 United States census. Pennsylvania has the ninth-highest by population density, and is the 33rd-largest by land area. The largest metropolitan statistical area is the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as the Delaware Valley and centered on Philadelphia, the sixth-most populous U.S. city. Pennsylvania's second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh, is centered in and around Pittsburgh, the commonwealth's second-largest city.
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of the commonwealth's namesake. Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden, a Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the British colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system, and religious pluralism. Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire, hosting the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, the latter of which formed the Continental Army commanded by George Washington in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War, unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution after Delaware.
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in July 1863 around Gettysburg, was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War with over 51,000 Union and Confederate casualties, and resulted in a repulsion of the Confederacy's invasion of the North. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the state's steel production and manufacturing-based economy contributed to the development of much of the nation's early infrastructure, including key bridges, skyscrapers, and military hardware used in U.S.-led victories in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. In the 21st century, Pennsylvania has garnered the nickname "Cellicon State" for the central role of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the development of immunotherapies to treat different cancers.
Pennsylvania's geography is highly diverse. The Appalachian Mountains run through the center of the state, the Allegheny and Pocono mountains span much of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and close to 60% of the state is forested. Although Pennsylvania technically has no oceanic shoreline, it has of waterfront along Lake Erie and along the tidal Delaware River, the latter of which reaches the Delaware Bay, a marginal bay of the Atlantic Ocean.<!-- Uncited and not developed anywhere in the article: Pennsylvania has the most navigable rivers of any state in the nation, including the Allegheny, Delaware, Genesee, Ohio, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, and others. -->
History
Indigenous settlement
Pennsylvania's history of human habitation extends thousands of years before the foundation of the colonial Province of Pennsylvania in 1681. Archaeologists believe the first settlement of the Americas occurred at least 15,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, though it is unclear when humans first inhabited present-day Pennsylvania. Between 10,000 and 16,000 years ago, Native Americans crossed the two continents, arriving in North America. Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Jefferson Township includes the earliest known signs of human activity in Pennsylvania and perhaps all of North America, including the remains of a civilization that existed over 10,000 years ago and possibly pre-dated the Clovis culture.
By the time European colonization of the Americas began, at least two major Native American tribes inhabited Pennsylvania. European disease and constant warfare with several neighboring tribes and groups of Europeans weakened these two tribes, and they were grossly outpaced financially as the Hurons and Iroquois blocked them from proceeding west into Ohio during the Beaver Wars. As they lost numbers and land, the Hurons abandoned much of their western territory and moved closer to the Susquehanna River, and the Iroquois and Mohawk tribes moved further north. Northwest of the Allegheny River was the Iroquoian Petun, who were fragmented into three groups during the Beaver Wars: the Petun of New York, the Wyandot of Ohio, and the Tiontatecaga of the Kanawha River in southern West Virginia. South of the Allegheny River was a nation known as Calicua, which may have been part of the Monongahela culture.
17th century
thumb|[[William Penn, a Quaker and son of a prominent admiral, founded the colonial Province of Pennsylvania in 1681.]]
In the 17th century, the Dutch and the English each claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their colonial lands in America. The Dutch were the first to take possession. In 1638, Sweden established the New Sweden Colony in the region of Fort Christina on the site of present-day Wilmington, Delaware. New Sweden claimed and, for the most part, controlled the lower Delaware River region, including parts of present-day Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but settled few colonists there.
On March 12, 1664, King Charles II of England gave James, Duke of York a grant that incorporated all lands included in the original Virginia Company of Plymouth Grant and other lands. This grant was in conflict with the Dutch claim for New Netherland, which included parts of today's Pennsylvania.
On June 24, 1664, the Duke of York sold the portion of his large grant that included present-day New Jersey to John Berkeley and George Carteret for a proprietary colony. The land was not yet in British possession, but the sale boxed in the portion of New Netherland on the West side of the Delaware River. The British conquest of New Netherland began on August 29, 1664, when New Amsterdam was coerced to surrender while facing cannons on British ships in New York Harbor. The conquest was completed in October 1664, when the British captured Fort Casimir in what today is New Castle, Delaware. The Treaty of Breda between England, France, and the Netherlands confirmed the English conquest on July 21, 1667, although there were temporary reversions.
On September 12, 1672, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch reconquered New York Colony/New Amsterdam, establishing three County Courts, which went on to become original Counties in present-day Delaware and Pennsylvania. The one that later transferred to Pennsylvania was Upland. This was partially reversed on February 9, 1674, when the Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War and reverted all political situations to the status quo ante bellum. The British retained the Dutch Counties with their Dutch names. By June 11, 1674, New York reasserted control over the outlying colonies, including Upland, and the names started to be changed to British names by November 11, 1674. Upland was partitioned on November 12, 1674, producing the general outline of the current border between Pennsylvania and Delaware.
On February 28, 1681, Charles II granted a land charter to Quaker leader William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000 (around £2,100,000 in 2008, adjusting for retail inflation) owed to William's father. The transaction represents one of the largest land grants to an individual in history. Penn proposed that the land be called New Wales, but there were objections to that name, so he recommended Sylvania (from the Latin silva: "forest, woods"). The King named it Pennsylvania (literally "Penn's Woods") in honor of Admiral Penn. The younger Penn was embarrassed at this name, fearing that people would think he had named it after himself, but King Charles would not rename the grant. Penn established a government with two innovations, the county commission and freedom of religion, which were subsequently replicated in many of the Thirteen Colonies. Penn signed a peace treaty with Tamanend, leader of the Lenape, which began a long period of friendly relations between the Quakers and the Indians. Additional treaties between Quakers and other tribes followed. The Treaty of Shackamaxon of William Penn was never violated.
18th century
thumb|[[Shelter House in Emmaus, constructed in 1734 by Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied building structure in the Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania]]
thumb|[[Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were adopted in 1776 and 1787–88, respectively]]
Between 1730 and when the Pennsylvania Colony was shut down by Parliament with the Currency Act in 1764, the Pennsylvania Colony made its own paper money to account for the shortage of actual gold and silver. The paper money was called Colonial Scrip.
The Colony issued bills of credit, which were as good as gold or silver coins because of their legal tender status. Since they were issued by the government and not a banking institution, they were interest-free, largely defraying the expense of the government and therefore taxation of the people. It also promoted general employment and prosperity, since the government used discretion and did not issue excessive amounts that inflated the currency. Benjamin Franklin had a hand in creating this currency, whose utility, he said, was never to be disputed. The currency also met with "cautious approval" by Adam Smith.
In 1740, Franklin also founded the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The university, one of nine colonial colleges, was the first college established in Pennsylvania and one of the first in the nation. Today, it is an Ivy League university, which is routinely ranked among the world's best universities. Dickinson College in Carlisle, founded by Benjamin Rush and named after John Dickinson, was the first college founded after Revolutionary War and the unification of the states. The ensuing hostilities became known as Pontiac's War.
After the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, delegate John Dickinson of Philadelphia wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. The Congress was the first meeting of the Thirteen Colonies, which convened at the request of the Massachusetts assembly; nine of the 13 colonies sent delegates. Dickinson then wrote Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, which were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between December 2, 1767, and February 15, 1768.
When the Founding Fathers convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress, which began in May 1775, authored and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, but when Philadelphia fell to the British in the Philadelphia campaign, the Continental Congress moved west, where it met at the Lancaster courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then to York. In York, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, largely authored by Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, that formed 13 independent States into a new union. Later, the Constitution was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new nation. The Constitution was drafted and signed at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall, the same building where the Declaration of Independence was previously adopted and signed in 1776.
On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, five days after Delaware became the first. At the time, Pennsylvania was the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen colonies. Because a third of Pennsylvania's population spoke German, the Constitution was presented in German so those citizens could participate in the discussion about it. Reverend Frederick Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister and the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, acted as chairman of Pennsylvania's ratifying convention.
For half a century, the Pennsylvania General Assembly met at various places in the Philadelphia area before it began meeting regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years. However, events such as the Paxton Boys massacres of 1763 had made the legislature aware of the need for a central capital. In 1799, the General Assembly moved to the Lancaster Courthouse.]]
The Pennsylvania General Assembly met in the old Dauphin County Court House until December 1821 The Hills Capitol burned down on February 2, 1897, during a heavy snowstorm, presumably because of a faulty flue.
Over three days, from July 1 to 3, 1863, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg was fought near Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of both the Civil War and of any battle in American history. The Union army's victory at Gettysburg also proved the Civil War's turning point, leading to the Union's victory two years later and the nation's preservation. Several months later, on November 19, 1863, then U.S. president Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, where he participated in a ceremonial consecration of present-day Gettysburg National Cemetery and delivered the Gettysburg Address, a 271-word speech that is one of the most famous speeches in American history. During the Civil War, an estimated 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union army, including 8,600 African American military volunteers.
The politics of Pennsylvania were for decades dominated by the financially conservative Republican-aligned Cameron machine, established by U.S. Senator Simon Cameron, who later served as Lincoln's Secretary of War. Control of the machine was subsequently passed on to Cameron's son J. Donald Cameron, whose ineffectiveness resulted in a transfer of power to Matthew Quay and later to Boies Penrose.
The post-Civil War era, known as the Gilded Age, saw the continued rise of industry in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was home to some of the largest steel companies in the world. Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh and Charles M. Schwab founded Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem. Other titans of industry, including John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould, also operated in Pennsylvania. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil industry was born in Western Pennsylvania, which supplied the vast majority of kerosene for years thereafter. As the Pennsylvania oil rush developed, Pennsylvania's oil boom towns, such as Titusville, rose and later fell. Coal mining, primarily in the state's Coal Region in the northeast region of the state, also was a major industry for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1903, Milton S. Hershey began construction on a chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania; The Hershey Company grew to become the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Heinz Company was also founded during this period. These huge companies exercised a large influence on the politics of Pennsylvania; as Henry Demarest Lloyd put it, oil baron John D. Rockefeller "had done everything with the Pennsylvania legislature except refine it". Pennsylvania created a Department of Highways and engaged in a vast program of road-building, while railroads continued to see heavy usage.
The growth of industry eventually provided middle class incomes to working-class households after the development of labor unions helped them gain living wages. However, the rise of unions also led to a rise of union busting with several private police forces springing up.
20th century
thumb|[[Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003.]]
In the beginning of the 20th century, Pennsylvania's economy was centered on steel manufacturing, logging, coal mining, textile production, and other forms of industrial manufacturing. A surge in immigration to the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided a steady flow of cheap labor for these industries, which often employed children and people who could not speak English from Southern and Eastern Europe. Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during the Spanish–American War. Pennsylvania was an important industrial center during World War I. The state provided over 300,000 soldiers during the war. On May 31, 1918, the Pittsburgh Agreement was signed in Pittsburgh, signed by Tomáš Masaryk and established Czechoslovakia as an independent nation.
In 1922, 310,000 Pennsylvania miners joined the UMW General coal strike, which lasted 163 days and shut down most of the state's coal mines.
In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge established the Allegheny National Forest under the authority of the Weeks Act of 1911. The forest is located in the northwest part of the state in Elk, Forest, McKean, and Warren Counties for the purposes of timber production and watershed protection in the Allegheny River basin. The Allegheny is the state's only national forest.
In 1922, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge began being constructed for the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia being held in 1926. The chief engineer of the bridge was Polish-born Ralph Modjeski, the design engineer was Leon Moisseiff, the supervising architect was Paul Philippe Cret, and the construction engineer was Montgomery B. Case. Work began on January 6, 1922. At the peak of construction, 1,300 people worked on the bridge, and 15 died during its construction. The bridge was originally painted by a commercial painting company owned by David A. Salkind, of Philadelphia, which also painted the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1926, three days ahead of its scheduled opening on the nation's 150th anniversary. At completion, its 1,750-foot (533-meter) span was the world's longest for a suspension bridge, a distinction it held until the opening of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in 1929.
During World War II, Pennsylvania manufactured 6.6 percent of total U.S. military armaments for the war, the sixth-most of the 48 states. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard served as an important naval base during the war, and Pennsylvania produced many of the war's most important military leaders, including George C. Marshall, Hap Arnold, Jacob Devers, and Carl Spaatz. During World War II, over a million Pennsylvanians served in the armed forces, and more Medals of Honor were awarded to Pennsylvanians than to individuals from any other state.
On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island accident was the most significant nuclear accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history. The state was hard-hit by the decline and restructuring of the steel industry and other heavy industries during the late 20th century. With job losses came heavy population losses, especially in the state's largest cities. Pittsburgh lost its place among the top ten most populous cities in the United States in 1950, and Philadelphia dropped to the fifth and is currently the sixth-largest city after decades of ranking among the top three.
After 1990, as information-based industries became more important in the economy, state and local governments put more resources into the old, well-established public library system. Some localities, however, used new state funding to cut local taxes. New ethnic groups, especially Hispanics and Latinos, began entering the state to fill low-skill jobs in agriculture and service industries. For example, in Chester County, Mexican immigrants brought the Spanish language, increased Catholicism, high birth rates, and cuisine when they were hired as agricultural laborers; in some rural localities, they made up half or more of the population.
Stateside Puerto Ricans have built a large community in the state's third-largest city, Allentown, where they comprise over 40% of the city's population as of 2000.
In the late 20th century, as Pennsylvania's historical national and even global leadership in mining largely ceased and its steelmaking and other heavy manufacturing sectors slowed, the state sought to grow its service and other industries to replace the jobs and economic productivity lost from the downturn of these industries. Pittsburgh's concentration of universities has enabled it to be a leader in technology and healthcare. Similarly, Philadelphia has a concentration of university expertise. Healthcare, retail, transportation, and tourism are some of the state's growing industries of the postindustrial era. As in the rest of the nation, most residential population growth has occurred in suburban rather than central city areas, although both major cities have had significant revitalization in their downtown areas. Philadelphia anchors the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, and Pittsburgh is the center of the nation's 27th-largest metropolitan areas. As of 2020, the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania is the nation's 69th-largest metropolitan area. Pennsylvania also has six additional metropolitan areas that rank among the nation's 200-most populous metropolitan areas. Philadelphia forms part of the Northeast megalopolis and is associated with the Northeastern United States. Pittsburgh is part of the Great Lakes megalopolis and is often associated with the Rust Belt.
21st century
thumb|The [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania|Stonycreek Township crash site of Flight 93, one of four planes hijacked in the September 11 attacks; the site is now a national memorial. Flight 93 passengers wrestled with al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers for control of the plane, preventing it from being flown into the White House or U.S. Capitol.]]
During the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, received worldwide attention after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, located north of the town. All 40 civilians and 4 Al-Qaeda hijackers on board were killed. The hijackers had intended to crash the plane into either the United States Capitol or The White House.
In October 2018, the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation, a conservative Jewish synagogue, experienced the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, which resulted in 11 fatalities. On July 13, 2024, near Butler, Pennsylvania, an assassination attempt on the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump occurred. Since the inception of the 21st century, Pennsylvania has garnered the additional nickname of "Cellicon State" for the central role of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the development of immunotherapies to treat different cancers. Of a total , It is the 33rd-largest state in the United States. Pennsylvania has of coastline along Lake Erie and
The boundaries of the state are the Mason–Dixon line (39°43' N) to the south, Twelve-Mile Circle on the Pennsylvania-Delaware border, the Delaware River to the east, 80°31' W to the west, and the 42° N to the north, except for a short segment on the western end where a triangle extends north to Lake Erie. The state has five geographical regions: Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Erie Plain.
Climate
thumb|The [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types of Pennsylvania based on 1991–2020 climate normals]]
thumb|Autumn in [[North Branch Township, Pennsylvania|North Branch Township in Wyoming County in October 2011]]
Pennsylvania's diverse topography produces a variety of climates, though the entire state experiences cool to cold winters and very warm, humid summers. Straddling two major zones, much of the state has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa or Dfb). The southern portion of the state has a humid subtropical climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa).
Summers are generally hot and humid. Moving toward the mountainous interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increases, and snowfall amounts are greater. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over of snowfall annually, and the entire state receives plentiful precipitation throughout the year. The state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into autumn. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, such as 30 recorded tornadoes in 2011; violent tornadoes, however, are rarer than they are in states further west.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;" |
| colspan="13" style="text-align:center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;" |Monthly Average High and Low Temperatures For Various Pennsylvania Cities (in °F)
|-
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000; height:30px;" | City
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Jan.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Feb.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Mar.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Apr.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | May
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Jun.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Jul.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Aug.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Sep.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Oct.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Nov.
! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;" | Dec.
|-
! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;" | Allentown
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 36/20
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 40/22
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 49/29
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 61/39
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 72/48
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 80/58
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 84/63
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 82/61
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 75/53
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 64/41
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 52/33
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 40/24
|-
! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;" | Erie
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 34/21
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 36/21
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 44/27
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 56/38
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 67/48
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 76/58
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 80/63
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 79/62
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 72/56
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 61/45
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 50/37
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 38/27
|-
! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;" | Harrisburg
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 37/23
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 41/25
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 50/33
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 62/42
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 72/52
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 81/62
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 85/66
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 83/64
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 76/56
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 64/45
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 53/35
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 41/27
|-
! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;" | Philadelphia
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 40/26
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 44/28
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 53/34
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 64/44
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 74/54
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 83/64
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 87/69
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 85/68
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 78/60
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 67/48
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 56/39
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 45/30
|-
! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;" | Pittsburgh
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 36/21
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 39/23
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 49/30
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 62/40
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 71/49
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 79/58
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 83/63
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 81/62
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 74/54
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 63/43
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 51/35
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 39/25
|-
! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;" | Scranton
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 33/19
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 37/21
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 46/28
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 59/38
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 70/48
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 78/56
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 82/61
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 80/60
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 72/52
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 61/41
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 49/33
| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;" | 38/24
|-
| colspan="13" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;background:#E8EAFA;" |Sources:<!--Philadelphia/Allentown--><!--Scranton/Wilkes-Barre--><!--Harrisburg--><!--Pittsburgh--><!--Erie-->
|}
Municipalities
Cities in Pennsylvania include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon, and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, and the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton in the central east, known as the Lehigh Valley. The northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Nanticoke, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest. State College is located in the central region. Williamsport is in the north-central region with York, Carlisle, and the state capital Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River in the east-central region of the state. Altoona and Johnstown are in the state's west-central region.
The state's three-most populated cities, in order of size, are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown.
Adjacent states and province
- Ontario (Province of Canada) (Northwest)
- New York (North and Northeast)
- New Jersey (East and Southeast)
- Delaware (Extreme Southeast)
- Maryland (South)
- West Virginia (Southwest)
- Ohio (West)
Demographics
thumb|upright=1.2|Pennsylvania population density map
thumb|Pennsylvania [[population pyramid]]
As of the 2020 U.S. census, Pennsylvania had a population of 13,011,844, up from 12,702,379 in 2010. Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populated state in the U.S. after California, Texas, Florida, and New York, and having overtaken Illinois as of the 2020 census. In 2019, net migration to other states resulted in a decrease of 27,718, and immigration from other countries resulted in an increase of 127,007. Net migration to Pennsylvania was 98,289. Migration of native Pennsylvanians resulted in a decrease of 100,000 people. 7.2% of the population was foreign-born as of 2021. Pennsylvania's center of population is in Duncannon in Perry County.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 12,691 homeless people in Pennsylvania.
Place of origin
Among Pennsylvania residents, as of 2020, nearly three out of four, 74.5%, are native to the state and were born in Pennsylvania, 18.4% were born in a different U.S. state, 1.5% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5.6% were foreign born. Foreign-born Pennsylvanians are largely from Asia (36.0%), Europe (35.9%), and Latin America (30.6%) with the remainder from Africa (5%), North America (3.1%), and Oceania (0.4%). The state's largest ancestry groups, expressed as a percentage of total people who responded with a particular ancestry for the 2010 census, were German 28.5%, Irish 18.2%, Italian 12.8%, African Americans 9.6%, English 8.5%, Polish 7.2%, and French 4.2%. As of 2018, the top countries of origin for Pennsylvania's immigrants were India, the Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, and Vietnam.
Race and ethnicity
thumb|upright=1.2|Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians
thumb|Largest alone or in any combination ethnic origin by county in Pennsylvania, per the 2020 census
thumb|Map of counties in Pennsylvania by racial and ethnic plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
The vast majority of Pennsylvania's population is made up of Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. Non-Hispanic Whites make up the majority of Pennsylvania; they are mostly descended from German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, and English immigrants. Rural portions of South Central Pennsylvania are recognized nationally for their Amish communities. Wyoming Valley, including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, has the highest percentage of white residents of any metropolitan area with a population of 500,000 or above in the U.S.; in Wyoming Valley, 96.2% of the population claim to be white with no Hispanic background. Romani people have been present in the state since the mid-1800s.
The state's Hispanic or Latino American population grew by 82.6% between 2000 and 2010, marking one of the largest increases in a state's Hispanic population. The significant growth of the Hispanic or Latino population is due to migration to the state mainly from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, and to a lesser extent immigration from countries such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and various Central and South American nations and a wave of Hispanic and Latinos leaving New York City and New Jersey for more affordable living.
The majority of Hispanic or Latino Americans in Pennsylvania are of Puerto Rican descent. Most of the remaining Hispanic or Latino population is made up of Mexicans and Dominicans, and the majority of Hispanics and Latinos are concentrated in Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, and South Central Pennsylvania. The Hispanic or Latino population is greatest in Bethlehem, Allentown, Reading, Lancaster, York, and around Philadelphia. As of 2010, the vast majority of Hispanics and Latino Americans in Pennsylvania, about 85%, live within a radius of Philadelphia, and about 20% live in the city itself.
Pennsylvania's Asian population more than doubled between 2000 and 2020, comprising mostly Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Filipino immigrants, and many Asians moving to Philadelphia from New York City. The rapid growth of this community has given Pennsylvania one of the largest Asian populations in the nation.
Among the state's black population, the vast majority in the state are African American. There are also a growing number of black residents of West Indian, recent African, and Hispanic or Latino origins. Most Blacks live in the Philadelphia area, Pittsburgh, or South Central Pennsylvania. Additionally, in 2020, 31,052 identified as being Native American alone, and 158,112 did in combination with one or more other races.
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" ; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Racial and ethnic composition as of the 2020 census
|-
! Race and ethnicity !! 2000!! 2010!! 2020
|-
| White || 88.5% || 85.4% || 81.9% || 75.0%
|-
| Black || 9.2% || 10.0% || 10.9% || 10.9%
|-
| Asian || 1.2% || 1.8% || 2.8% || 3.9%
|-
| Native || 0.1% || 0.1% || 0.2% || 0.2%
|-
| Native Hawaiians and<br />other Pacific Islanders || – || – || – || –
|-
| Other race || 1.0% || 1.5% || 2.4% || 3.9%
|-
| Two or more races || – || 1.2% || 1.9% || 6.0%
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Pennsylvania – racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|10,322,455
|10,094,652
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,553,417
|84.05%
|79.47%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |73.47%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1,202,437
|1,327,091
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,368,978
|9.79%
|10.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.53%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|14,904
|16,909
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15,028
|0.12%
|0.13%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.12%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|218,296
|346,288
|style='background: #ffffe6; |506,674
|1.78%
|2.73%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.90%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|2,691
|2,715
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,162
|0.02%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|13,086
|16,469
|style='background: #ffffe6; |54,541
|0.11%
|0.13%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|113,097
|178,595
|style='background: #ffffe6; |451,285
|0.92%
|1.41%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.47%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|394,088
|719,660
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,049,615
|3.21%
|5.67%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.07%
|-
|Total
|12,281,054
|12,702,379
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,002,700
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
Birth data
Note: data for births of White Hispanic origin have not been collected, but included in one Hispanic group; people of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:left;"
|+ class="nowrap"|Live births by single race/ethnicity of mother
|-
! Race
! 2013
! 2014
! 2015
! 2016
! 2017
! 2018
! 2019
! 2020
! 2021
! 2022
! 2023
|-
| White
| 98,751 (70.0%)
| 99,306 (69.8%)
| 97,845 (69.4%)
| 94,520 (67.8%)
| 92,297 (67.0%)
| 90,862 (67.0%)
| 88,710 (66.1%)
| 85,956 (65.8%)
| 88,168 (66.5%)
| 85,031 (65.3%)
| 82,284 (64.8%)
|-
| Black
| 24,770 (17.6%)
| 24,024 (16.9%)
| 24,100 (17.1%)
| 18,338 (13.1%)
| 18,400 (13.4%)
| 17,779 (13.1%)
| 17,585 (13.1%)
| 17,118 (13.1%)
| 16,748 (12.6%)
| 16,616 (12.8%)
| 15,766 (12.4%)
|-
| Asian
| 6,721 (4.7%)
| 7,067 (5.0%)
| 6,961 (4.9%)
| 6,466 (4.6%)
| 6,401 (4.6%)
| 6,207 (4.6%)
| 6,214 (4.6%)
| 6,074 (4.6%)
| 5,980 (4.5%)
| 6,212 (4.8%)
| 6,028 (4.7%)
|-
| American Indian
| 423 (0.3%)
| 368 (0.3%)
| 390 (0.3%)
| 86 (0.1%)
| 135 (0.1%)
| 128 (0.1%)
| 119 (0.1%)
| 83 (>0.1%)
| 88 (>0.1%)
| 162 (0.1%)
| 141 (0.1%)
|-
| Hispanic (any race)
| 14,163 (10.1%)
| 14,496 (10.2%)
| 14,950 (10.6%)
| 15,348 (11.0%)
| 15,840 (11.5%)
| 15,826 (11.7%)
| 16,718 (12.5%)
| 16,741 (12.8%)
| 17,163 (12.9%)
| 18,118 (13.9%)
| 18,505 (14.6%)
|-
| Total
| 140,921 (100%)
| 142,268 (100%)
| 141,047 (100%)
| 139,409 (100%)
| 137,745 (100%)
| 135,673 (100%)
| 134,230 (100%)
| 130,693 (100%)
| 132,622 (100%)
| 130,252 (100%)
| 126,951 (100%)
|}
Age and poverty
As of the 2010 census, Pennsylvania had the fourth-highest proportion of elderly (65+) citizens in the nation at 15.4%, compared to a national average of 13.0%. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the state's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2017 compared to 13.4% for the U.S. as a whole.
Languages
thumb|An [[Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County. As of 2024, Pennsylvania has an Amish population of 92,660, the largest of any state in the nation.]]
As of 2010, 90.2% (10,710,239) of Pennsylvania residents age five and older spoke English at home as a primary language while 4.1% (486,058) spoke Spanish, 0.9% (103,502) spoke German, including Pennsylvania Dutch, and 0.5% (56,052) spoke Chinese, including Mandarin. In total, 9.9% (1,170,628) of Pennsylvania's population age5 and older spoke a mother tongue other than English.
Pennsylvania Dutch language
Pennsylvania German, spoken by nearly one percent of Pennsylvania's population as of 2010, is often misleadingly called Pennsylvania Dutch. The term Dutch used to mean German, (including, at the time, from the Netherlands) before the Latin derived "German" replaced it. When referring to the language spoken by the Pennsylvania Dutch people, Pennsylvania German, it means German - the modern German language word for "German" is "Deutsch" - cognate with the Pennsylvania German word "Deitsch". Pennsylvania German is a descendant of German from the West Central German dialect family and is closest to Palatine German. Pennsylvania German is still very vigorous as a first language among Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites, principally in the Lancaster County and Berks County areas; it is almost extinct as an everyday language outside the plain communities, though a few words have passed into English usage.