Jefferson County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,492. Its county seat is Brookville. The county was established on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and later organized in 1830. It is named after President Thomas Jefferson. It is home to Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous groundhog that predicts when spring will come every February 2 on Groundhog Day. 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 (0.7%) is water. It has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) and average monthly temperatures in Brookville range from 24.8 °F in January to 68.8 °F in July, while in Punxsutawney they range from 25.7 °F in January to 69.6 °F in July. Jefferson 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 (northwest) Elk County (northeast) Clearfield County (east) Indiana County (south) Armstrong County (southwest) Clarion County (west)
Major highways
Streams There are many named streams flowing through Jefferson County, far too many to list here. An exhaustive list is presented in a separate article. All those streams eventually flow to the Allegheny River except for Bear Run, , in the southeast which flows into the Susquehanna River. The principal streams and the area of their watersheds that lie within the county are: Clarion River: Little Toby Creek: Clear Creek: Cathers Run: Mill Creek: Redbank Creek: North Fork Creek: Clear Run: Pekin Run: Sandy Lick Creek: Wolf Run: Soldier Run: Trout Run: Mill Creek: Fivemile Run: Falls Creek: Little Sandy Creek: Mahoning Creek: East Branch Mahoning Creek: Stump Creek: Big Run: Canoe Creek: Elk Run: Pine Run:
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 44,492, and the median age was 45.0 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 95.5% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races, while Hispanic or Latino residents comprised 0.9% of the population.
26.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 73.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 18,726 households in the county, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.3% were married-couple households, 19.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 22,005 housing units, of which 14.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.5% were owner-occupied and 25.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.7%.
+Jefferson County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)45,32044,26442,31798.66%97.92%95.11%Black or African American alone (NH)491471250.10%0.32%0.28%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)6472450.13%0.15%0.10%Asian alone (NH)94911000.20%0.20%0.22%Pacific Islander alone (NH)4380.00%0.00%0.01%Other race alone (NH)158920.03%0.01%0.20%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1983401,4080.43%0.75%3.16%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1882753970.40%0.60%0.89%Total45,93245,20044,492100.00%100.00%100.00%
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 45,932 people, 18,375 households, and 12,862 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,104 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.97% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 31.1% were of German, 13.4% Italian, 10.8% American, 9.2% Irish and 7.8% English ancestry.
There were 18,375 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.
Law and government
Jefferson County is strongly favored the Republican Party, which has won the vote of all but two presidential elections.
Voter registration As of July 22, 2024, there are 27,731 registered voters in Jefferson County.
Republican: 18,817 (67.86%) Democratic: 5,809 (20.94%) Independent: 2,096 (7.56%) Third Party: 1,009 (3.64%)
County Commissioners Mark Humes(R) Scott E. North(R) Jeffrey E. Pisarcik(D)
State Senate Cris Dush, District 25 Joe Pittman, District 41
State House of Representatives Brian Smith, Republican, Pennsylvania's 66th Representative District
United States House of Representatives G.T. Thompson, Republican, Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district
United States Senate David McCormick, Republican John Fetterman, Democratic
Education
Colleges and universities Indiana University of Pennsylvania Clarion University of Pennsylvania Butler County Community College (Brockway)
Public school districts Brockway Area School District Brookville Area School District Clarion-Limestone Area School District DuBois Area School District Punxsutawney Area School District
Related public entities Jefferson County-DuBois AVTS Riverview Intermediate Unit #6
Private schools Allens Mills School - Reynoldsville Bear Lane School - Punxsutawney Blose Hill Amish School - Reynoldsville Bucks Run - Reynoldsville Canoe Ridge Amish School - Rossiter Christ Dominion Academy Colonial Drake - Punxsutawney Eagles Nest Amish School - Brockway Highland Park - Punxsutawney Hillside School - Punxsutawney Lone Maple School - Punxsutawney Maple Grove School - Reynoldsville Mountain View School - Punxsutawney Munderf Amish School - Brockway Oak Grove Parochial School - Smicksburg Pine Valley Parochial School - Punxsutawney Playhouse Children's Center - Punxsutawney Praise Christian Academy - Reynoldsville Punxsutawney Christian Sch - Ele Level - Punxsutawney Spring Hollow Amish School - Reynoldsville Spring Run School - Smickburg Sts Cosmas & Damian School - Punxsutawney Trout Run School - Punxsutawney Valley View School - Punxsutawney West Creek Road Amish School - Punxsutawney Willow Drive School - Punxsutawney Windy Hollow Amish School - Mayport
Libraries Jefferson County Library System - Brockway Mengle Memorial Library - Brockway Punxsutawney Memorial Library - Punxsutawney Rebecca M Arthurs Memorial Library - Brookville Reynoldsville Public Library - Reynoldsville Summerville Public Library - Summerville Sykesville Public Library - Sykesville
Licensed entities Full Circle Inc Boys Home - Reynolds Jefferson County Adult Detention Center Western Pennsylvania School of Taxidermy - Oliveburg
Recreation Two Pennsylvania state parks are in the county. Clear Creek State Park is in Barnett and Heath Townships. Cook Forest State Park is in Barnett Township and stretches into neighboring Clarion and Forest Counties
The Jefferson County Fair is held annually in July.
Communities
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 Jefferson County:
Boroughs
Big Run Brockway Brookville (county seat) Corsica Falls Creek Punxsutawney Reynoldsville Summerville Sykesville Timblin Worthville
Townships
Barnett Beaver Bell Clover Eldred Gaskill Heath Henderson Knox McCalmont Oliver Perry Pine Creek Polk Porter Ringgold Rose Snyder Union Warsaw Washington Winslow Young
Census-designated place Crenshaw University of Pittsburgh (Bradford)
Unincorporated communities
Adrian Mines Alaska Allens Mills Anita Baxter Beechtree Beechwoods Bells Mills Blowtown Bowersville Cloe Coal Glen Conifer Content Coolspring Cortez Desire Dora East Branch Ella Emerickville Fordham Forestville Frostburg Fuller Hamilton Hazen Heathville Horatio Howe Kahletown Knox Dale Lanes Mills Langville Markton McMinns Summit Munderf North Freedom Ohl Oliveburg Panic Pancoast Pansy Pardus Port Barnett Porter Prescottville Ramsaytown Rathmel Richardsville Ringgold Rockdale Roseville Sandy Valley Schoffner Corner Sigel Soldier Sprankle Mills Stanton Stump Creek Sugar Hill Valier Walston Warsaw Westville Winslow Wishaw
Population ranking The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Jefferson County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation(2020 Census) 1 Punxsutawney Borough 5,769 2 † Brookville Borough 3,995 3 Reynoldsville Borough 2,549 4 Brockway Borough 2,276 5 Sykesville Borough 1,115 6 Falls Creek (partially in Clearfield County) Borough 994 7 Big Run Borough 647 8 Summerville Borough 504 9 Crenshaw CDP 468 10 Corsica Borough 319 11 Timblin Borough 147 12 Worthville Borough 80
Notable people John T. Morrison, sixth governor of Idaho from 1903 until 1905; born in Jefferson County. Sparky Lyle, professional baseball player Chuck Daly, American basketball head coach George Jenks, politician Florence Parry Heide, author Wilbur Good, professional baseball player Andy Hastings, professional football player Mal Eason, professional baseball player John Mizerock, professional baseball player Devin Mesoraco, professional baseball player Jim Pittsley, professional baseball player Britt Baker, professional wrestler and dentist Laura Temple, missionary teacher and archaeologist in Mexico
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania Oil Creek Library District
References