Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania by the Numbers:
Key Statistical Data and Facts

Key Details

• As of 2022, Pennsylvania has an estimated population of 12,972,008 residents.
• 91.4% of residents aged 25 and above possess high school diplomas, while 33.1% possess Bachelor’s degrees or higher.
  John Shapiro serves as the 48th state governor.
• The median household income in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2021 was recorded at $67,587
• In 2020, 49.8% of males aged 15 years and over were married, while 46% of females aged 15 years and over were married.

Pennsylvania Population Demographics

According to statistics published by the US Census Bureau, Pennsylvania has a population of  12,972,008 as of July 2022. The total population dipped by 0.2% between 2020 and 2022. Approximately 5.3% of the population consisted of persons under five years, while residents under 18 comprised 20.6% of the population (the most of any age group). Roughly 19% of residents were aged 65 years or older. As of 2022, Pennsylvania has a near-even gender split. 50.6% of the entire population was female, while 49.4% accounted for the male population.

Pennsylvania Housing

According to the US Census

5,770,601

In July 2021, Pennsylvania recorded a total of 5,770,601 housing units, according to the US Census Bureau.

5,147,783 households

In comparison, there were 5,147,783 households between 2017 and 2021.

2.44

Within this period, the average number of persons per household was 2.44

69.2%

Owner-occupied units comprised a higher percentage

30.8%

While non-owner-occupied units comprised

$197,300

The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $197,300 between 2017-2021

$1,569.

On the other hand, the median selected monthly owner costs with mortgages was recorded at $1,569.

Pennsylvania Racial Demographics

Residents of Native Hawaiian origins and other Pacific Islanders made up the lowest percentage at 0.1%. The second lowest percentage (0.4%) was recorded for residents of American Indian and Alaskan Native origins. 2.3% of the population in Pennsylvania identify as having origins of Two or More Races.

Elections in Pennsylvania

Gubernatorial elections in Pennsylvania have seen candidates of both the Republican and Democrat parties become winners. The past leaders of the state include Ed Rendell, the Democrat who won in 2002 and served two terms until 2011. Republican Tom Corbett won the next elections and was governor till 2015. The seat changed hands yet again, and the next governor elected was the Democrat Tom Wolf (2015 - 2023).

As of 2023, John Shapiro is the state governor. He won in a landslide victory defeating Doug Mastriano by the most significant margin ever seen for a non-incumbent since 1946. With over 3 million votes, he earned the most votes of any candidate in the state’s election history.

During the senate elections held on November 8, 2022, John Fetterman, a Democrat, won one of Pennsylvania’s two senatorial seats, defeating Mehmet Oz in the process. The Senate elections were among some of the most competitive elections in 2022. Fetterman won with a 5% margin. Bob Casey Jr is the other Pennsylvania senator. He became a senator in 2018, defeating Lou Barletta, by a 55.7% to 42.6% margin.

2020 Presidential Election

The 2020 Presidential Elections were a closely contested affair between candidates from the two major parties. Joe Biden won the state of Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes.

According to state-certified results, Joe Biden received a total of 3,458,229 votes, which was estimated to be 50.01% of the total votes. On the other hand, Donald Trump got a total of 3,377,674 votes, amounting to a total of 48.76%. The combined total votes for the remaining candidates came to a total of 79,380 votes, which was 1.15% of the total.

Joe Biden

Donald Trump

Pennsylvania Voting Statistics

The Pennsylvania Department of State’s Division of Elections published data showing that there were 8,873,144 registered voters as of November 2022. Of the total voters registered, 4,046,694 were affiliated with the Democratic Party, while 3,497,126 were Republicans. 1,329,324 of the registered voters were affiliated with other minor parties or no parties at all.

General Election

Data for the 2020 general elections in Pennsylvania reveal there were 9,090,962 certified registered voters. Pennsylvania saw a voter turnout of 76.5% in the general elections. This was the highest voter turnout since 2008. On election day, 4,216,030 ballots were cast

Education in Pennsylvania

Between 2017 and 2021, around 91.4% of  residents in Pennsylvania aged 25 and above possessed high school diplomas. In the same age range, 33.1% were graduates possessing Bachelor’s degrees or higher–a much lower number recorded within the same period.

Pennsylvania Employment Rate

According to the US Census Bureau, as of 2021, approximately 5,279,905 residents were employed across different industries in Pennsylvania. In comparison, the total number of employer establishments within the same period totaled 304,633. In 2019, the number of non-employer establishments in the state totaled 872,647.

Between 2020 and 2021, there was a significant decrease in the total employment percentage by -5.3%. The men-owned employer firms recorded in 2017 numbered 140,151, while the female-owned employer firms were 37,987. The total number of all employment firms in the year 2017 was recorded at 216,320.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2023, the Education and Health Services sector had the most jobs with 1,298,900 jobs. This was closely followed by the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector, which had 1,157,800 jobs. The nonfarm industry with the least employed people was Mining and Logging with 23,100 people.

Average Income in Pennsylvania

According to estimates from the US Census Bureau, the median household income in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2021 was recorded at $67,587. The per-capita income over 12 months between 2017-2021 was around $37,725, while the percentage of persons in poverty was 12.1%.

The median income recorded for households in Pennsylvania with a single earner was $60,640 in 2022. According to US Department of Justice statistics, households with two and three earners reportedly earned $74,805 and $92,441, respectively.

Families in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Marriage Rates

Pennsylvania Divorce Rates

In 2021, the National Center for Health Statistics recorded a divorce rate of 2.4 divorces per 1000 people. This figure is slightly higher than the divorce rate (2.3) of the previous year. Additionally, the rate of divorce in Pennsylvania has steadily fallen each decade since 1990. In 1990, the divorce rate was 3.3 per 1000 persons. It then fell to 3.1 in the year 2000, and in 2010 it went further down to 2.7. In 2020, the divorce rate fell to the lowest it had ever been in three decades.

According to the survey data, 8.6% of men 15 years old and over are divorced. Men aged between 55 to 64 years accounted for the largest percentage of divorcees in Pennsylvania at 15.0%. On the other hand, the female population had a higher divorce percentage than men, as 10.6% of women 15 years and over are divorced. The age group with the highest percentage was women aged 55 to 64 years (17.1%).

Life Expectancy in Pennsylvania

In 2020, Pennsylvania had a life expectancy of 76.8 years according to the National Center for Health Statistics. This is a drop-off from 2019, when the life expectancy was at 78.3. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s General Health Status report, life expectancy in men and women increased by 1.3 years and 1.8 years, respectively, between 2000 and 2013.

In 2020, 146,718 women who were 15 and above had given birth in the past 12 months according to US Census Bureau statistics. 33.7% of the women who had given birth were unmarried. The age group with the highest percentage of births in the past year was 20 to 34 years, at 73.3%. Of the women who had birthed in the past year, 65.3% were Black or African American, while 27.4% were white. Asian and Hispanic or Latino formed 9.5% and 2.4% of the women, respectively.

The leading cause of death in Pennsylvania is heart disease. In 2020, Pennsylvania recorded a relatively high drug overdose death rate of 42.4 per 100,000 persons. For context, the national drug overdose rate was 28.3 per 100,000 persons in 2020. The firearm injury death rate was 14.8 per 100,000 persons in 2021.

Pennsylvania Crime Rates

PennsylvaniaAttorney General published data detailing crime in the state in 2018. According to the data, a total of 128,116 violent crimes had been committed in 2018, at a rate of 9.78 per 1000 persons. When compared to the previous three years, the 2018 crime rate is the lowest. 2015, 2016, and 2017 had crime rates of 9.87, 9.87, and 9.81, respectively. There was also a steady decrease in violent crime from 2000-2018. The total amount of violent crime in the year 2000 was 1143,797, and it fell to 128,116 in 2018.

In 2018, Philadelphia County had by far the highest crime rate (29.18 crimes per 1000 persons) of any county in Pennsylvania. To put it in perspective, Dauphin had the second-highest crime rate at 15.28. The county with the lowest crime rate was Bucks County, with a crime rate of 3.98. Union (4.07), Chester (4.76), and Mifflin (4.98) followed closely behind.

Pennsylvania Incarceration Rate

According to statistics from the National Institute of Corrections,

305 per 100,000 persons

According to the National Institute of Corrections, as of 2019, Pennsylvania has an incarceration rate of 305 per 100,000 persons.

73 jails

There are 73 jails in 67 counties in Pennsylvania.

31,790 inmates

There were 31,790 inmates in Pennsylvania county jails. There are also 24 state prisons with a prison population standing at 45,702.

$2,628,500,000

As of December 31, 2019, state-run facilities had a $2,628,500,000 budget and 15,000 employees.

172,052 and 105,938

Pennsylvania’s probation and parole population was 172,052 and 105,938, respectively, in 2019.

The Prison Policy Initiative has published data showing the incarceration rate for women as of 2015 was 43 per 100,000 persons. On the other hand, the incarceration rate was 747 per 100,000 persons.

Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Rate

2022

9,826 bankruptcy filings

According to theAmerican Bankruptcy Institute, there were 9,826 bankruptcy filings in Pennsylvania in 2022, the lowest it has been in the last five years. Bankruptcy filings had fallen by 56.2% between 2017 and 2022. Since 2005, the year with the highest bankruptcy rate after the start of the millennia, the number of bankruptcy filings decreased by 87%.

Additionally, Pennsylvania has fewer bankruptcy filings than over half of the states in the US, with bankruptcy filings in Pennsylvania being 24% below the national average. Furthermore, Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings totaled 5,355, 111, and 4,354, respectively, in Pennsylvania.

Weird Laws in Pennsylvania

Every place has a set of laws that leaves its habitants scratching their heads thinking “Why is this illegal?”. Pennsylvania is no exception. The following are examples of weird laws in Pennsylvania.