| County: | Blair County |
| State: | Pennsylvania |
| Flag: | Flag of Blair County, Pennsylvania.png |
| Seal: | Seal of Blair County, Pennsylvania.png |
| Founded Date: | February 26 |
| Founded Year: | 1846 |
| Seat Wl: | Hollidaysburg |
| Largest City Wl: | Altoona |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 527 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 526 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 1.3 |
| Area Percentage: | 0.2 |
| Census Yr: | 2020 |
| Pop: | 122822 |
| Density Sq Mi: | 234 |
| Web: | www.blairco.org |
| Ex Image: | Blair County Courthouse Apr 10.JPG |
| Ex Image Size: | 250 |
| Time Zone: | Eastern |
| District: | 13th |
Blair County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,822.[1] Its county seat is Hollidaysburg, and its largest city is Altoona.[2] The county was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford counties. The county is part of the Southwest Pennsylvania region of the state.
Blair County comprises the Altoona, PA metropolitan statistical area. It is also part of the Altoona-Huntingdon, PA Combined Statistical Area, which includes Blair and Huntingdon counties.[3]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.2%) is water.[4] Blair County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission,[5] and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.[6]
Blair has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb).
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 127,089 people and 52,159 households within the county. The population density was 246/mi2. There were 55,061 housing units at an average density of 105adj=preNaNadj=pre. The racial makeup of the county was 96.18% White, 1.68% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.0% were of German, 12.2% Irish, 10.7% Italian, 9.9% American, and 6.0% English ancestry.
There were 52,159 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 19, 5.9% from 20 to 24, 11.1% from 25 to 34, 19.3% from 35 to 49, 21.4% from 50 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. The population was 48.55% male and 51.45% female.
| White (NH) | 113,016 | 92% | |
| Black or African American (NH) | 2,463 | 2% | |
| Native American (NH) | 134 | 0.1% | |
| Asian (NH) | 868 | 0.7% | |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 12 | 0.01% | |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 4,621 | 3.76% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,708 | 1.4% |
Blair County has been a Republican Party stronghold since the party was founded. Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 are the only Democratic presidential candidates to date to win the county (with neither taking more than 52% of the county's vote), although Theodore Roosevelt won it as the candidate of the Progressive Party in 1912.
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As of April 29, 2024, there are 77,491 registered voters in Blair County.[9]
Data taken from Pennsylvania EdNA - PDE database of public private schools 2012
Blair County hosts a system of nine libraries that can be accessed with one library card. Resource sharing exists between the eight libraries. Books from any of the eight system libraries can be placed on hold and delivered to a patron's home library and then returned to any of the eight libraries in the system.
There is one Pennsylvania state park in Blair County, Canoe Creek State Park in Frankstown Township.
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Blair County:
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are unincorporated communities and not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Blair County.[10]
† county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Population (2010 Census) | Municipal type | Incorporated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Altoona | 46,320 | City | 1854 (borough) 1868 (city) | |
| 2 | † Hollidaysburg | 5,791 | Borough | 1836 | |
| 3 | Tyrone | 5,477 | Borough | 1857 | |
| 4 | Bellwood | 3,564 | Borough | 1898 | |
| 5 | Roaring Spring | 2,585 | Borough | 1888 | |
| 6 | Greenwood | 2,458 | CDP | ||
| 7 | Martinsburg | 1,958 | Borough | 1832 | |
| 8 | Lakemont | 1,868 | CDP | ||
| 9 | Claysburg | 1,625 | CDP | ||
| 10 | Williamsburg | 1,254 | Borough | 1827 | |
| 11 | Duncansville | 1,233 | Borough | 1891 | |
| 12 | Tipton | 1,083 | CDP | ||
| 13 | East Freedom | 972 | CDP | ||
| 14 | Foot of Ten | 672 | CDP | ||
| 15 | Grazierville | 665 | CDP | ||
| 16 | Tunnelhill (mostly in Cambria County) | 363 | Borough | 1876 | |
| 17 | Northwood | 296 | CDP | ||
| 18 | Newry | 270 | Borough | 1876 |