Blair County, Pennsylvania


Blair County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,822. Its county seat is Hollidaysburg, and its largest city is Altoona. The county was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford counties. The county is part of the Southwest region of the commonwealth.
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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Blair County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, 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.

Features

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Climate

Blair has a warm-summer humid continental climate.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 122,822. The median age was 44.3 years, with 19.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 22.3% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 92.5% White, 2.1% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 3.9% from two or more races. Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino] residents of any race comprised 1.4% of the population.
74.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 25.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 51,227 households in the county, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.9% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 55,700 housing units, of which 8.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.7% were owner-occupied and 30.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.9%.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 125,641121,495113,01697.28%95.59%92.01%
Black or African American alone 1,4952,0512,4631.15%1.61%2.00%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 1031251340.07%0.09%0.10%
Asian alone 4616898680.35%0.54%0.70%
Pacific Islander alone 1526120.01%0.02%0.00%
Race and ethnicity in [the United States census|Other race] alone 53523670.04%0.04%0.29%
Mixed race or Multiracial 7141,4214,2540.55%1.11%3.46%
Hispanic or Latino 6621,2301,7080.51%0.96%1.39%
Total129,144127,089122,822100.00%100.00%100.00%

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 127,089 people and 52,159 households within the county. The population density was. There were 55,061 housing units at an average density of. 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.

Law and government

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, although Theodore Roosevelt won it as the candidate of the Progressive Party in 1912. In 2016 and 2024, it played a crucial role in helping Donald Trump carry Pennsylvania.

County commissioners

  • David Kessling, chair, Republican
  • Laura Burke, Vice-chair, Democrat
  • Amy Webster, Secretary, Republican

Other county offices

  • Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Robin Patton, Republican
  • Controller, A.C. Stickel, Republican
  • Coroner, Ray Benton, Republican
  • District Attorney, Pete Weeks, Republican
  • Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds, Anita Terchanik, Republican
  • Sheriff, James Ott, Republican
  • Treasurer, James Carothers, Republican

Police agencies

State senate

State House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Voter registration

As of April 23, 2025 there are 81,144 registered voters in Blair County.

Education

Colleges and universities

Community, junior and technical colleges

Public school districts

School districts include:

Charter schools

Technology school

Private schools

  • Alternative Education Program - Hollidaysburg
  • Holy Trinity Middle School - Altoona
  • Holy Trinity Elementary School - Altoona Campus
  • Holy Trinity Elementary School - Hollidaysburg Campus
  • Altoona Hospital School of Nursing
  • Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School - Altoona
  • Blair County Christian School - Duncansville
  • Champion Life Christian Academy - Altoona
  • Cove Lane Parochial School - Martinsburg
  • Crawford Elementary at Adelphoi Village
  • Emmanuel Baptist Christian School - Claysburg
  • Faith Tabernacle School - Altoona
  • Great Commission Schools - Altoona
  • Harbor House Center Early Academy - Altoona
  • Heritage Christian School - Martinsburg
  • Hollidaysburg Catholic School - Hollidaysburg
  • Living Water Christian Academy - Williamsburg
  • Northwestern Human Services Autism School
  • Penn Mont Academy - Hollidaysburg
  • Penn Mont at Penn State Altoona
  • Piney Creek Parochial School - New Enterprise
  • Shady Grove School - Martinsburg
  • Shady Pond School - Altoona
  • St John Evangelist School - Altoona
  • St Matthew School - Tyrone
  • St Patrick School - Newry
  • Sylvan Learning Center - Hollidaysburg
  • Tender Love for Children - Altoona
  • The Nehemiah Project - Altoona
  • Training & Development Tech - Hollidaysburg
  • White Oak School - Tyrone
Data taken from Pennsylvania EdNA - PDE database of public private schools 2012

Libraries

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.
  • Altoona Area Public Library - Altoona
  • Bellwood Antis Public Library - Bellwood
  • Blair County Library System - Altoona
  • Claysburg Area Public Library - Claysburg
  • Hollidaysburg Area Public Library - Hollidaysburg
  • Martinsburg Community Library - Martinsburg
  • Roaring Spring Community Library - Roaring Spring
  • Tyrone-Snyder Twnshp Pub Library - Tyrone
  • Williamsburg Public Library - Williamsburg

Recreation

There is one Pennsylvania state park in Blair County, Canoe Creek State Park in Frankstown Township.

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 located in Blair County:

City

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

s 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.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Blair County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Population Municipal typeIncorporated
1Altoona42,989City1854 1868
2† Hollidaysburg5,632Borough1836
3Tyrone5,095Borough1857
4Bellwood1,751Borough1898
5Roaring Spring2,399Borough1888
6Greenwood3,597CDP
7Martinsburg1,858Borough1832
8Lakemont1,803CDP
9Claysburg1,196CDP
10Williamsburg1,167Borough1827
11Duncansville1,148Borough1891
12Tipton688CDP
13East Freedom578CDP
14Foot of Ten537CDP
15Grazierville848CDP
16Tunnelhill 327Borough1876
17Northwood124CDP
18Newry307Borough1876