Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania


Westmoreland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. At the 2010 census, the population was 365,169. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford Counties, Westmoreland County was founded on February 26, 1773, and was the first county in the colony of Pennsylvania whose entire territorial boundary was located west of the Allegheny Mountains. Westmoreland County originally included the present-day counties of Fayette, Washington, Greene, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. It is named after Westmorland, a historic county of England.
Westmoreland County is included in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford Counties, Westmoreland County was founded on February 26, 1773, and was the first county in the colony of Pennsylvania whose entire territorial boundary was located west of the Allegheny Mountains. Westmoreland County originally included the present-day counties of Fayette, Washington, Greene, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. It is named after Westmorland, a historic county of England.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Westmoreland has a humid continental climate. Average monthly temperatures in Greensburg range from 28.7° F in January to 71.8° F in July, while in Murrysville they range from 29.4° F in January to 73.1° F in July, in Latrobe they range from 28.9° F in January to 72.0° F in July, and in Ligonier they range from 28.1° F in January to 71.1° F in July.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

At the 2010 census, there were 365,169 people, 153,650 households and 101,928 families residing in the county. The population density was 355.4 per square mile. There were 168,199 housing units at an average density of 163.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95.3% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 153,650 households of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.86.
22.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.1 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

Politics and government

In November 2008, there were 249,147 registered voters in Westmoreland County.
The Democratic Party had been historically dominant in county-level politics, however Westmoreland has trended Republican at the national and statewide levels. In 2000, Republican George W. Bush won 51% and Democrat Al Gore won 45%. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won 56% and Democrat John Kerry won 43%. In 2008, Republican John McCain won 57% to Democrat Barack Obama's 41%. Governor Ed Rendell lost Westmoreland in both 2002 and 2006. In 2008 Republican Tim Krieger picked up the 57th House district left open by the retirement of Democrat Tom Tangretti. In 2010, both Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett won Westmoreland in their statewide bids. Also the GOP gained control of two more State House districts, the 54th with Eli Evankovich and the 56th with George Dunbar. In 2011, the Republican Party swept all county row offices A Democrat resurgence in 2015 gave that party a majority of the county commissioners, but in the 2019 elections the Democrats lost that majority and carried only one row office.

Presidential elections

County commissioners

State Senate

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Education

Public school districts

According to EdNA

Private high school

occurred in the county in the winter of 1910–11.
Volkswagen's Westmoreland plant near New Stanton in Westmoreland County was the first foreign-owned factory mass-producing automobiles in the U.S. It operated from 1978 to 1988.

Recreation

There are four Pennsylvania state parks in Westmoreland County.
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 Westmoreland County:

Cities

s are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Westmoreland County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1MurrysvilleMunicipality20,079
2† GreensburgCity14,892
3New KensingtonCity13,116
4Lower BurrellCity11,761
5JeannetteCity9,654
6LatrobeCity8,338
7MonessenCity7,720
8VandergriftBorough5,205
9ArnoldCity5,157
10Mount PleasantBorough4,454
11ScottdaleBorough4,384
12Level GreenCDP4,020
13IrwinBorough3,973
14LoyalhannaCDP3,428
15ManorBorough3,239
16Trafford Borough3,174
17YoungwoodBorough3,050
18DerryBorough2,688
19DelmontBorough2,686
20West NewtonBorough2,633
21Lawson HeightsCDP2,194
22New StantonBorough2,173
23Southwest GreensburgBorough2,155
24South GreensburgBorough2,117
25Lynnwood-PricedaleCDP2,031
26North Belle VernonBorough1,971
27LigonierBorough1,573
28St. Vincent CollegeCDP1,357
29West LeechburgBorough1,294
30CalumetCDP1,241
31FellsburgCDP1,180
32CollinsburgCDP1,125
33AvonmoreBorough1,011
34NorveltCDP948
35ExportBorough917
36North IrwinBorough846
37OklahomaBorough809
38HerminieCDP789
39HostetterCDP740
40New FlorenceBorough689
41YukonCDP677
42East VandergriftBorough674
43SutersvilleBorough605
44MillwoodCDP566
45New AlexandriaBorough560
46BradenvilleCDP545
47GrapevilleCDP538
48MammothCDP525
49Hyde ParkBorough500
50SewardBorough495
51WyanoCDP484
52PennBorough475
53BolivarBorough465
54SmithtonBorough399
55MadisonBorough397
56SlickvilleCDP388
57AronaBorough370
58YoungstownBorough326
59HunkerBorough291
60CrabtreeCDP277
61WebsterCDP255
62AdamsburgBorough172
63Laurel MountainBorough167
64Harrison CityCDP134
65DonegalBorough120

Notable people