Wayne County, Pennsylvania


Wayne County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The county's population was 51,155 at the 2020 census. The county seat is the Borough of Honesdale. The county was formed from part of Northampton County on March 21, 1798, and was named for the Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania and Pocono Mountains region of the state.
The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, begins in southern Wayne County.
WWW co.wayne.pa.us𝕏 waynecountypaFB waynecountycourthouse

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wayne County has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The terrain of the county is varied. In the wider northern half, the land is rugged along its border with New York State, while the southern portion tends to be swampier. Higher hills and mountains are predominantly found along the county's western edge, while lower ones are more common in the east, near the Delaware River. The middle section of Wayne County is a wide plain.
The highest elevation in the county,, is the summit of Mount Ararat in Orson. Two other summits at the north end of the same ridge also exceed in elevation. The county's lowest point, at approximately above sea level, is along the Delaware, near Wayne County's border with Pike County, Pennsylvania.
Most of Wayne County is drained by the Delaware, with the exception of a few small areas in the western part of the county, which are drained by either the Starrucca Creek or the Lackawanna River.
The county has a warm-summer humid continental climate and average monthly temperatures in Honesdale range from 22.8 °F in January to 67.9 °F in July.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 51,155. The median age was 49.1 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 110.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 111.7 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 89.5% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.6% of the population.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 45,64748,59044,82195.65%91.98%87.61%
Black or African American alone 7311,5631,6471.53%2.95%3.21%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 6785730.14%0.16%0.14%
Asian alone 1782524180.37%0.47%0.81%
Pacific Islander alone 1300.00%0.00%0.00%
Other race alone 12321650.02%0.06%0.32%
Mixed race or Multiracial 2754811,6840.57%0.91%3.29%
Hispanic or Latino 8111,8162,3471.693.43%4.58%
Total47,72252,82251,155100.00%100.00%100.00%

13.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 86.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 20,794 households in the county, of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.0% were married-couple households, 19.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 31,910 housing units, of which 34.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 79.5% were owner-occupied and 20.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%.

2010 census

As of the Census of 2010, there were 52,822 people, 20,625 households, and 13,952 families in Wayne County. The county's population density was, and there were 31,653 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the populace was 94.2% White, 3.1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.9% of other races, and 1.1% of two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of all races made up 3.4% of the population.
67.6% of Wayne County's households were families, 53.9% were headed by a heterosexual married couple, and 26.6% included children under the age of 18. 9.2% of households were headed by a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% by a male householder with no wife present, and 32.4% consisted of non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% consisted of a person 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.87.
Wayne County's age distribution was 21.1% under the age of 18, 4.5% between the ages of 18 and 24, 23.1% between 25 and 44, 32.4% between 45 and 64, and 19.0% 65 years of age or older. The population's median age was 45.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 110 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112 males in the same age range.

American Community Survey

According to American Community Survey (ACS) estimates, the median income for a household in Wayne County in 2013 was $49,313, and the median income for a family was $58,934. Males had a median income of $36,173, while females had a median income of $23,636. The per capita income for the county was $24,005. 8.4% of families and 12.2% of people were below the Census Bureau's poverty thresholds, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
According to self-reported ancestry figures recorded by the ACS, the five largest ancestral groups in Wayne County in 2013 were Germans, Irish, Italians, English, and Poles. Those reporting American ancestry made up 8.6% of the population.

Government and infrastructure

United States senators

United States representative

State representatives

Source:

State senator

County commissioners

  • Brian W. Smith, Republican
  • James Shook, Republican
  • Jocelyn Cramer, Democrat

Other county officers

  • Auditors: Carla J. Komar, Republican; Kathy Schloesser, Democrat; Catherine Jane Rickard, Republican
  • Coroner: Edward R. Howell, Republican
  • District Attorney: A.G. Howell, Republican
  • Prothonotary: Edward "Ned" Sandercock, Republican
  • Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills: Debbie Bates, Republican
  • Sheriff: Christopher Rosler, Republican
  • Treasurer: Brian T. Field, Republican

Healthcare services

Wayne County is served by the Wayne Memorial Health System. The Health System consists of Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale and several other subsidiaries and/or affiliates. In addition, the community has a number of physicians and other professionals providing needed care. The Farview State Hospital is located in Farview.

Emergency services

Paramedic services are provided by three different agencies:
BLS services are provided as dispatched through the Wayne County Communication Center. These agencies include:
Maplewood Fire and Rescue provides QRS "quick response service" to all medical calls in Lake townships.

Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons United States Penitentiary, Canaan is in Canaan Township, near Waymart.

Education

Public school districts

School districts include:

Private schools

There are five private or parochial schools in Wayne County:
  • Canaan Christian Academy in Varden
  • Saint Dominic's Academy in Honesdale

Libraries

The Wayne Library Alliance operates seven public libraries throughout the county:

Seminaries

There is one seminary, St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan.

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: boroughs, cities, townships, and one town. Wayne County has only boroughs and townships. The latter type is classified based on population by the state government; all of its townships are second-class. A complete list of the county's municipalities follows:

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

In addition, Pennsylvania also has a few types of unincorporated communities, namely villages and private communities. Villages are unincorporated communities within a township, often defined by ZIP code boundaries, property deeds, and local consensus, but which have no official boundaries or population, unless they are also census-designated places (CDPs), geographical areas designated by the US Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. Regardless of whether or not they are CDPs, however, they are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Private communities are gated settlements usually governed by a community association, which also often defines the boundaries of the community and may keep track of the number of its members. However, like villages, private communities have no official boundaries or populations, unless they are CDPs, and are never Pennsylvanian jurisdictions. The following is an incomplete list by necessity, but more complete lists of Wayne County's villages and private communities may be found in the corresponding township entry.

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Wayne County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† 'HonesdaleBorough4,480
2The HideoutCDP3,013
3WaymartBorough1,341
4Wallenpaupack Lake EstatesCDP1,279
5Big Bass Lake CDP1,270
6HawleyBorough1,211
7Pocono SpringsCDP926
8Gouldsboro CDP890
9White MillsCDP659
10PromptonBorough250
11BethanyBorough246
12Starrucca'Borough173