Beaver County, Pennsylvania


Beaver County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,215. Its county seat is Beaver, and its largest city is Aliquippa. The county is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region of the commonwealth.

History

Beaver County was created on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny and Washington counties. It took its name from the Beaver River.
The original townships at the date of the erection of Beaver County in 1800 were North Beaver, in what would eventually become Lawrence County, east and west of the Big Beaver Creek; South Beaver, west of the Big Beaver; Sewickley, east of the Big Beaver—all north of the Ohio River; Hanover, in the southeastern corner of the county; and lastly, Moon Township, Pennsylvania|First Moon], and Second Moon, south of the Ohio.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Beaver County has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Average monthly temperatures in the Beaver/Rochester vicinity range from 29.4 °F in January to 73.2 °F in July. Beaver 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.

Bodies of water

  • The Ohio River flows north through Beaver County from a point near Ambridge, then turns west near Beaver and on to the Ohio and West Virginia borders. It divides the southern third of the county from the northern two-thirds.
  • The Beaver River flows south from Lawrence County entering Beaver County near Koppel and continuing south to its confluence with the Ohio near Beaver.

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 168,215. The median age was 45.6 years. 19.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 86.2% White, 6.6% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 5.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.1% of the population.
71.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 28.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 71,971 households in the county, of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.3% were married-couple households, 19.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 78,944 housing units, of which 8.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.7% were owner-occupied and 27.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 181,412 people, 72,576 households, and 50,512 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 77,765 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 92.55% White, 5.96% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.0% were of German, 17.4% Italian, 9.9% Irish, 6.5% English, 6.4% Polish and 5.8% American ancestry.
There were 72,576 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. Of all households 26.90% were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 22.60% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.20 males.

Government and politics

Voter registration

In November 2008, there were 118,269 registered voters in Beaver County.
By April 2016, there were 109,091 registered voters, a decrease of 7.7% since 2008.
The county is divided into 129 precincts.
  • Democratic: 58,828
  • Republican: 38,015
  • Other parties/non-partisan: 12,248
As of January 8, 2024, there were 111,767 registered voters in Beaver county. Republicans hold a plurality of voters by a margin of just 190 voters, after overtaking Dems at the end of December 2023. There were 48,229 registered Republicans, 48,039 registered Democrats, 10,390 registered non-affiliated voters and 5,109 voters registered to other parties.

Political history

Beaver County used to be a Democratic stronghold, and had a slight Democratic edge in registration until 2023. In 2015, the GOP took majority status in the Commissioners' Office for the first time since 1955. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry won Beaver County over Republican George W. Bush 51% to 48%. In 2008, Republican John McCain defeated Democrat Barack Obama 50% to 47%, becoming the first Republican to win there since 1972 and only the third since 1928. Mitt Romney and Donald Trump carried the county in the next four elections. In 2010, Republican Governor Tom Corbett and Republican Senator Pat Toomey both carried Beaver in their successful statewide bids, and Toomey won the county again in 2016. However, Democrats have still seen recent success in Beaver County in non-presidential races, with Democrats often being competitive in the county in Senate and gubernatorial elections. Beaver County voted for Bob Casey Jr. in his reelection bid in 2012 50% to 47%, and again voted to re-elect Casey in 2018, as well as Democrat Tom Wolf.
In 2022, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro defeated Republican Doug Mastriano in the county, but was the only Democrat that cycle to do so.

County commissioners

CommissionerPartyTitle
Daniel C. Camp IIIRepublicanChairman
Tony AmadioDemocratic
Jack ManningRepublican

Governor

Recreation

Near Koppel there is Buttermilk Falls, a naturally occurring waterfall. In Brighton Township there is Brady's Run Park. Racoon Creek State Park is one of Pennsylvania's largest and most visited state parks. The park encompasses and features the Raccoon Lake. Additionally, there are many riverfront parks throughout the county. The North Country National Scenic Trail passes through the county's northern end. The NCT has an 11-mile point-to-point off-road section near Darlington to the Ohio state line and a 2.5 mile off-road section near New Galilee and Enon Valley, Pennsylvania.

Transportation

Airports

Education

Colleges and universities

Community, junior, and technical colleges

[Image:Map of Beaver County Pennsylvania School Districts.png|thumb|300 px|right|Map of Beaver County, Pennsylvania public school districts. Note that two districts on this map, Monaca School District and Center Area School District, merged in 2009 to form the Central Valley School District.]

Public school districts

High schools

Charter schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education – EdNA, as of April 2010.

Private schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education – EdNA, as of April 2010.
  • Agapeland Children Garden – Beaver
  • Beaver County Christian School -Upper – Beaver Falls
  • Beaver Co Christian -West Park Elementary – Beaver Falls
  • Bethel Christian School – Aliquippa
  • Deliverance Temple Ministries ROOTS Inc Christian Academy – Aliquippa
  • Hope Christian Academy – Aliquippa
  • North Hills Christian School – Baden
  • Our Lady of Fatima School – Aliquippa
  • Pleasant Hill Wesleyan Academy – Hookstown
  • Quigley Catholic High School – Baden
  • St John the Baptist School – Monaca
  • St Monica Catholic Academy – Beaver Falls
  • Sts Peter & Paul School – Beaver
  • Sylvania Hills Christian – Rochester

Former school districts

In 2009, Center Area School District and Monaca School District merged to form Central Valley School District.

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities in Pennsylvania|cities], towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania|boroughs], townships in Pennsylvania|townships], and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are in Beaver County:

Cities

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Former communities

  • Borough Township, established in 1804 from the small southeast corner of South Beaver Township. In 1970, it was renamed Vanport Township.
  • First Moon Township, split from [Moon Township, Pennsylvania|Moon Township in Allegheny County] in 1800, and was abolished in 1812 after the county was restructured.
  • Lawrence County, Pennsylvania|Little Beaver Township], which was part of Beaver County from 1801 until 1849, when Lawrence County was created.
  • Moon Township, established in 1812 in most of the territories of First and Second Moon Townships. It originally held the portion of the county South of the Ohio River. Over the next century, parts of the Township were split into Center, Potter, and Racoon Townships. It became extinct in 1932 after the remaining portion was annexed by Monaca, as the ward of Monaca Heights.
  • North Beaver Township, which was one of the original townships of Beaver County, from its creation in 1799, until 1849, when Lawrence County was created.
  • Perry Township, which was part of Beaver County from 1845 until 1849, when Lawrence County was created.
  • Second Moon Township, split from Moon Township in Allegheny County in 1800, and was abolished in 1812 after the county was restructured.
  • Sewickley Township, split from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Pine Township in Allegheny County] in 1797, and originally held the portion of the county East of the Beaver River. It was split into North Sewickley and New Sewickley Townships in 1801.
  • Shenango Township, which was part of Beaver County from 1804 until 1849, when Lawrence County was created.
  • Slippery Rock Township, which was part of Beaver County from 1837 until 1849, when Lawrence County was created.
  • Wayne Township, which was part of Beaver County from 1845 until 1849, when Lawrence County was created.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Beaver County.
† county seat
RankCity/town/etc.Population Municipal typeIncorporated
1Aliquippa9,438City1928 1987
2Beaver Falls8,987City1868 1928
3Economy8,970Borough1957
4Ellwood City 7,921Borough
5Ambridge7,050Borough1905
6New Brighton6,025Borough1838
7Monaca5,737Borough1840
8† Beaver4,531Borough1802
9Baden4,135Borough1868
10Rochester3,657Borough1849
11Ohioville3,533Borough1860
12Harmony Township3,197CDP and township1851
13Patterson Township3,029CDP and township1845
14Midland2,635Borough1906
15Conway2,176Borough1902
16Big Beaver1,970Borough1858
17Industry1,835Borough1960
18Freedom1,569Borough1838
19West Mayfield1,239Borough1923
20Koppel762Borough1910
21Bridgewater704Borough1835
22Patterson Heights636Borough1899
23East Rochester567Borough1908
24South Heights475Borough1910
25New Galilee379Borough1854
26Fallston266Borough1829
27Darlington254Borough1820
28Eastvale225Borough1892
29Shippingport214Borough1910
30Georgetown174Borough1850
31Hookstown147Borough1843
32Frankfort Springs130Borough1844
33Homewood109Borough1910
34Glasgow60Borough1854

Notable people