|
Penn
State Cooperative Extension
|
|
|
|
|
|
Facts about Perry County
Perry
County, originally part of Cumberland County, became the 51st
County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 22, 1820.
The county is named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the American
hero of the naval engagement with the British on Lake Erie.
Perry County occupies about one percent of the state’s
land area and contains approximately 550 square miles. The county
measures about 47 miles in length and varies from eighth to
twenty miles in width.
Part of the Appalachian Mountain Region, Perry County is bordered
on the north, west, and south by the Tuscarora, Conococheague,
and Blue Mountains. Sixty-two percent of the county is forested.
The Susquehanna River serves as Perry County’s eastern
border with twenty-eight miles of shoreline. The Juniata River
flows sixteen miles through the east central area of the county
before it empties into the Susquehanna at Duncannon.
Perry remains a mostly rural county with agricultural roots
in dairy and poultry production and forest products. The total
annual farm production is valued at $52 million.
Perry County’s population is 51,000, and is growing about
6% annually. Perry County leads the state for the percent of
its working population that work outside the county. The southern
and eastern areas of the county are the most populated and many
of those individuals work in Cumberland County or Harrisburg.
The county’s forests and wooded lands are recognized as
exceptional hunting areas, especially for whitetail deer, turkey
and squirrel. There are 17,378 acres of State Game Land in Perry
County. The streams, rivers, and Holman Lake at Little Buffalo
State Park provide excellent fishing sites for trout, bass and
muskellunge. 41,460 acres of the Tuscarora State Forest are
located in western Perry County. This acreage is managed for
wood, water, wildlife and recreation.
The county seat is New Bloomfield. The Penn State Cooperative
Extension Office of Perry County is located in New Bloomfield.
Perry
County Statistics
-
The
Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, bicameral
legislative agency that serves as a resource for rural
policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The Center
works with executive agencies and federal, regional and
community organizations to maximize resources and strategies
that can better serve the needs of Pennsylvania's 3.7
million rural residents.
Socioeconomic
Trends
Total
Population
1980 35,830
1990 41,350
2000 44,640
Median
Age of Population
1990 33.5
2000 36.7
%
of Population 65+ Years of Age
1990 11%
2000 11%
%
of Population 0-19 Years of Age
1990 30%
2000 29%
%
of Population 25+ Years of Age, not completing high school
1970 55%
1980 39%
1990 27%
%
of Population 25+ Years of Age, completing 4+ years of college
1970 4%
1980 7%
1990 9%
Average
Household Income (in current dollars)
1990 $41,289
1995 $49,714
Employment
-
Perry
County unemployment for period 1995-2000 averaged below
4%.
-
Perry
County leads all other counties in number of working residents
who are employed outside the county borders (91%).
-
In
1998, 7,663 residents worked in the county.
Agriculture
and Natural Resource Statistics
Total
Value of Agricultural Production
$50,000,000
Livestock
and Poultry Numbers
Dairy Cattle 16,700
Beef Cattle 8,400
Hogs 32,600
Lambs & Goats 1,075
Broilers 5,100,000
Turkeys 320,000
Field
Crop Production (in acres)
Corn for Grain 16,800
Corn for Silage 6,900
Alfalfa Hay 11,400
Grass Hay 14,300
Wheat 4,300
Barley 1,700
Oats 3,100
Soybeans 10,300
Total
Acres of Field and Forage Crops
68,800
Total
Acres of Vegetable and Fruit Crops
233
Average
Annual Rainfall (inches)
40
Number
of Farms in County
815
Number
of Commercial Dairy Farms
112
Number
of Sheep Farms
30
Number
of Poultry Farms
60
Total
Number of Acres in Farmland (cultivated and pasture)
123,000
you
are here