CENTRE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Centre County has an area of 1.115 square miles (fifth largest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) and a population of 135,758. The County’s geographic landscape is made up of two provinces, the Allegheny Plateau and the Ridge and Valleys. The Allegheny Plateau province is located northwest of the Bald Eagle Creek Valley. It consists of three distinct zones: eroded foothills along the base that form the boundary, the high rugged forested plateau with deeply incised streams, and troughs of bituminous coal. This area has lent itself to extractive industries including, lumbering, coal and clay mining, and natural gas production. The Ridge and Valley province is located to the southeast of the Bald Eagle Creek. It is characterized by broad, fertile limestone valleys and high forested ridges. Except for a piney sand barren present along much of the length of the Nittany Valley, the gentle, rolling terrain and rich soils are well Captain James Potter, a British army officer in 1764. Centre County suited for agricultural production. For the most part the was incorporated in 1800 with a population of 4,112. The first steep sided, stoney ridges are forested, and land belonging to settlers in the county were primarily Scotch-Irish and German. The the State. early settlers were drawn to the area because of the abundant deposits of iron ore, lumber, coal, and limestone rich farmland. The The first known inhabitants of Centre County were recorded amount of farmland in Centre County resulted in the Agricultural in 1681. The inhabitants were Muncy Indians, which were a College of Pennsylvania in 1863, which later became The tribe of the Delaware Indian Nation whose territory included Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). The enrollment and much of New York and northern Pennsylvania. Other Native research activities of Penn State has transformed pastoral Centre American tribes that inhabited Centre County in later years County into a Metropolitan Area by attracting modern were the Iroquois and Shawnees. high-technology industries and all manner of service businesses to The first recorded exploration of Centre County was by support the County’s growing population. Prepared by the Centre County Planning & Community Development Office, 2008 CENTRE COUNTY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT COMPARISON LABOR FORCE DATA 88.2% Centre County continually posts one of the lowest unemployment rates in 80.4% 81.9% Pennsylvania and the United States as a whole. Centre County has very high educational attainment rates. Percentages of 36.3% 24.4% 22.4% high school and college graduates in the county far exceed those of the state and nation. Additionally, the proximity to Penn State University U.S. Pennsylvania Centre County offers a highly educated labor pool for local employers. % Bachelor's Degree or Higher % High School Graduate or Higher Employment by Sector UNEMPLOYMENT RATES Industry Total Employment Total Nonagricultural 74,500 5.3% 5.1% 5.0% Goods-Producing 8,100 4.8% Construction & Mining 3,400 4.5% 4.3% 4.3% Manufacturing 4,700 3.9% Service Providing 66,400 Trade, Transportation, & Utilities 10,400 3.2% Retail Trade 8,100 Professional & Business 6,000 Education & Health 7,100 Leisure & Hospitality 6,800 Other Services 5,800 Government Employment 30,300 Federal 500 State 24,700 Local 5,100 Blair Centre Clearfield Clinton Huntingdon Mifflin Union PA U.S. County County County County County County County MEAN TRAVEL TIME TO WORK 30.0 LABOR FORCE POPULATION 25.0 Not in In Labor Labor 20.0 s 16 Years + Force Force e t u n Blair County 103,379 59.6% 40.4% i 15.0 M 114,077 60.1% 39.9% n Centre County i 66,758 57.4% 42.6% e 10.0 Clearfield County m i Clinton County 30,705 58.5% 41.5% T Huntingdon County 36,941 54.2% 45.8% 5.0 Mifflin County 36,280 58.8% 41.2% 0.0 Union County 34,270 49.5% 50.5% Blair County Centre Clearfield Clinton Huntingdon Mifflin County Union County County County County County Prepared by the Centre County Planning & Community Development Office, 2008 Source: U.S. Census, 2000, PA Dep. Of Labor and Industry, 2006 CENTRE COUNTY 2000 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LEVELS 40% EDUCATION 35% 30% 25% 20% Centre County’s percentages of high school and college graduates are much 15% higher than the surrounding counties, particularly the levels of college graduates. 10% The county also ranks higher than the state or nation in terms of educational at- tainment levels. 5% 0% Centre County is well recognized for its excellence in educational Less than 9th 9th to 12th High School Some college, Associate's Bachelor's Graduate or grade grade, no Graduate no degree degree degree professional opportunities. For the most part, this is due to the prestigious Penn State Uni- diploma versity, which is well known for its academic rigorousness. Also, the State Col- Centre County Pennsylvania U.S. lege School District was recently ranked as the best small CENTRE COUNTY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT metropolitan school district in the country. COMPARISON 1990 2000 % Change In addition to these fine facilities, the county is home to a number of other educa- Population 25 years and over 66,356 74,785 12.7% tional institutions. There are several trade schools and even a few places that Less than 9th grade 4,033 2,884 -28.5% specialize in training of the arts. 9th to 12th grade, no diploma 6,838 5,947 -13.0% High School Graduate 22,957 25,292 10.2% Some college, no degree 8,016 9,960 24.3% Associate's degree 3,072 3,571 16.2% EDUCATIONAL ENROLLMENT COMPARISON Bachelor's degree 11,113 14,039 26.3% 61.1% Graduate or professional 10,327 13,092 26.8% 58.6% EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT COMPARISON 90% 80% 43.1% 70% 33.1% 60% 31.6% 50% 22.3% 40% 30% 7.3% 20% 6.3% 5.3% 10% 0% Blair County Centre Kindergarten Elementary School (Grades 1-8) High School (Grades 9-12) Clearfield Clinton County Huntingdon Mifflin County County Union County County County Centre County Pennsylvania U.S. % Bachelor's Degree or Higher % High School Graduate or Higher Prepared by the Centre County Planning & Community Development Office, 2008 Source: Pennsylvania Business Central, 2004; Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2001-2005; U.S. Census; 1990, 2000 CENTRE COUNTY POPULATION AND HOUSING TRENDS CENTRE COUNTY 160,000 2.9 2.9 HOUSING 140,000 2.8 s 120,000 t t i i n 2.8 n U U g Centre County has a variety of housing to accommodate various housing needs. Housing 100,000 g n n i 2.7 i s s u can be found in a variety of price ranges, from less than $50,000 to more than u o o H 80,000 2.7 H $500,000. Presently, there is a need for more affordable housing in the county. The d r n e a P county also has a large number of renter-occupied units. In fact, there is more here than 2.6 s 60,000 s n n o in any of the surrounding counties, due in large part to the student population located in o s 2.6 s r r e the county. 40,000 e P P 2.5 A trend that is being experienced in the county, as well as through the nation, is the 20,000 declining number of persons per housing unit. From 1980-2000 the population has 2.5 grown by 20.4, while the number of housing units has grown by 34.4%. This trend is 0 2.4 due to less people living together and family sizes decreasing. 1980 1990 2000 Population Housing Units Persons Per Housing Unit HOUSING TENURE COMPARISON 100% 90% HOUSING UNIT TYPE 80% 20 or 70% 1 Unit 1 Unit 3 or 4 5 or 9 10-19 More Mobile Boat, Rv, Detached Attached 2 Units Units Units Units Units Home Van, Etc. 60% Blair County 70.1% 3.6% 5.9% 4.5% 3.4% 1.7% 3.6% 7.1% 0.0% 50% Centre County 56.7% 5.4% 3.5% 3.8% 5.0% 5.6% 12.3% 7.5% 0.1% 40% Clearfield County 74.5% 1.4% 3.5% 2.9% 1.7% 0.7% 1.8% 13.4% 0.2% 30% Clinton County 69.2% 4.2% 4.4% 3.5% 3.5% 0.9% 2.4% 11.4% 0.5% 20% Huntingdon County 73.4% 1.7% 3.8% 2.3% 1.6% 0.3% 1.6% 14.5% 0.6% 10% Mifflin County 65.6% 9.5% 5.2% 3.6% 2.7% 0.6% 1.8% 10.6% 0.5% 0% Union County 70.5% 4.9% 4.0% 4.4% 2.5% 1.5% 2.2% 9.8% 0.2% Blair County Centre County Clearfield Clinton County Huntingdon Mifflin County Union County County County Renter-Occupied Units Owner-Occupied Units HOUSING VALUE Blair County Centre County Clearfield County Clinton County Huntingdon County Mifflin County Union County *1980 1990 2000 *1980 1990 2000 *1980 1990 2000 *1980 1990 2000 *1980 1990 2000 *1980 1990 2000 *1980 1990 2000 Less than $50,000 82.39% 63.34% 24.68% 56.56% 22.42% 5.45% 82.78% 66.59% 33.56% 82.78% 55.55% 18.51% 84.82% 61.08% 25.22% 86.30% 57.97% 22.21% 72.25% 25.95% 4.09% $50,000 to $99,999 16.52% 31.28% 48.88% 39.77% 51.09% 34.68% 16.17% 29.53% 49.91% 16.17% 39.73% 59.54% 14.19% 34.87% 51.81% 12.82% 37.37% 58.20% 25.66% 56.37% 49.15% $100,000 to $149,999 0.81% 3.77% 18.05% 3.07% 17.43% 31.00% 0.82% 2.69% 11.44% 0.82% 3.64% 15.55% 0.83% 3.07% 15.96% 0.69% 3.49% 13.74% 1.77% 10.04% 28.05% $150,000 to $199,999 0.18% 1.11% 5.19% 0.38% 6.01% 16.70% 0.17% 0.88% 3.18% 0.17% 0.67% 4.62% 0.11% 0.80% 4.73% 0.14% 0.62% 4.31% 0.30% 4.58% 10.00% $200,000 to $299,999 (for 1980 $200,000 or more) 0.10% 0.30% 2.23% 0.21% 2.17% 8.76% 0.06% 0.27% 1.54% 0.06% 0.26% 1.28% 0.04% 0.13% 1.64% 0.04% 0.45% 1.08% 0.02% 2.44% 6.12% $300,000 to $499,999 - 0.18% 0.69% - 0.87% 2.87% - 0.04% 0.32% - 0.15% 0.31% - 0.05% 0.49% - 0.11% 0.35% - 0.53% 2.12% $500,000 or more - 0.03% 0.29% - 0.01% 0.55% - 0.01% 0.05% - 0.00% 0.18% - 0.00% 0.14% - 0.00% 0.11% - 0.08% 0.46% *In 1980 housing value categories went up to $200,000 or greater.