York County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York. The county was created on August 19, 1749, from part of Lancaster County and named either after the Duke of York, an early patron of the Penn family, or for the city and county of York in England. The county is part of the South Central region of the state.

York County comprises the York-Hanover, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, Pennsylvania combined statistical area. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania.

Based on the Articles of Confederation having been adopted in York by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, the local government and business community began referring to York in the 1960s as the first capital of the United States of America. The designation has been debated by historians ever since. Congress considered York and the borough of Wrightsville on the eastern side of York County along the Susquehanna River as the nation's permanent capital before Washington, D.C., was selected.

York County is home to Martin's Potato Chips in Thomasville; Utz Quality Foods, Inc., Snyder's of Hanover, and Hanover Foods in Hanover; Gibble's Potato Chips, and Wolfgang Candy in York; the Emigsville Band in Emigsville; a major manufacturing branch of Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the York International brand of refrigeration/HVAC equipment, and York Barbell. York was the home of The Bon-Ton from 1898 to 2018, and Dentsply Sirona until 2019.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. The county is bound to its eastern border by the Susquehanna River. Its southern border is the Mason–Dixon line, which separates Pennsylvania and Maryland. Within the U.S. piedmont region, York County is generally hilly and rises to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest, where it is bordered by Yellow Breeches Creek. Interior waterways include Codorus and Conewago Creeks, and Lakes Lehman, Kiwanis, Marburg, Pahagaco, Pinchot, Redman, and Williams.

Adjacent counties Cumberland County (north) Dauphin County (northeast) Lancaster County (east) Harford County, Maryland (southeast) Baltimore County, Maryland (south) Carroll County, Maryland (southwest) Adams County (west)

Major roads and highways

Climate Most of York County has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and the hardiness zones are 6b and 7a. The latest temperature averages show some low-lying eastern areas of the county to have a humid subtropical climate (Cfa.)

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +York County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)299,407321,249349,456374,779365,35395.67%94.60%91.54%86.16%80.04%Black or African American alone (NH)8,96810,55813,51522,49325,7682.87%3.11%3.54%5.17%5.65%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2173885686356400.07%0.11%0.15%0.15%0.14%Asian alone (NH)1,1122,0533,2505,3366,5570.36%0.60%0.85%1.23%1.44%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census97108118xx0.03%0.02%0.03%Other race alone (NH)5591612786091,7680.18%0.05%0.07%0.14%0.39%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3,2916,61516,874xx0.86%1.52%3.70%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,7005,16511,29624,39739,3600.86%1.52%2.96%5.61%8.62%Total312,963339,574381,751434,972456,438 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 456,438. The median age was 41.4 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 81.8% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.1% from some other race, and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.6% of the population.

71.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 28.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 177,553 households in the county, of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.9% were married-couple households, 16.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 187,187 housing units, of which 5.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.6% were owner-occupied and 26.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%.

2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 381,751 people, 148,219 households, and 105,531 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 156,720 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.76% White, 3.69% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.39% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.96% of the population. 42.0% were of German, 12.6% American, 7.7% Irish, 6.4% English and 5.1% Italian ancestry. 94.8% spoke English and 2.9% Spanish as their first language.

There were 148,219 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.80 males.

As of 2006, the York-Hanover Metropolitan Statistical Area was the fastest-growing metro area in the Northeast region, and was ranked among the fastest-growing in the nation, according to the "2006 Population Estimates for Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas" (U.S. Census Bureau). The estimates listed York-Hanover as the 95th fastest-growing metro area in the nation, increasing 9.1 percent between 2000 and 2006.

York city had a 77.3 percent increase in the number of residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, based on a comparison of the 2000 and 2010 U.S. census results. The city's 30.9 percent Hispanic population (as of December 2017) is more than that of other places in the area.

Dialect The Central Pennsylvania accent and the Susquehanna dialect are the two most commonly heard speech patterns in the county. Many people of Pennsylvania Dutch descent also inhabit the county, who tend to speak with a Pennsylvania Dutch English dialect.

Metropolitan statistical area The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has designated York County as the York–Hanover, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The United States Census Bureau ranked the York–Hanover, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 9th most populous in the state of Pennsylvania, and 115th most populous MSA in the United States as of July 1, 2012.

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the York–Hanover MSA as a component of the more extensive Harrisburg–York–Lebanon combined statistical area (CSA), the 43rd most populous CSA and the 49th most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012. As of the 2017 estimates, the CSA's 1.26 million people ranks 5th in the state of Pennsylvania.

Politics and government Prior to 1952, York County was a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections, voting majority Republican only four times before then. Between the founding of the party in 1828 and 1900, the county voted Democratic every time, one of only a handful of counties in Pennsylvania to do so. Starting with the 1952 election, it has become a Republican stronghold with Lyndon Johnson being the lone Democrat to win the county since. Since then, Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008 are the only Democratic presidential candidates who have received over 40% of the county's vote, and George H. W. Bush in 1992 is the only Republican not to win a majority. Republicans overtook Democrats in voter registration between 1980 and 1984. The only real pockets of Democratic support are in the city of York and neighboring Spring Garden Township.

According to the Secretary of State's office, a majority of voters in York County are registered as Republicans. As of March 4, 2024, there were 310,874 registered voters in the county.

Republican: 161,672 (52.00%) Democratic: 96,448 (31.02%) Independent: 43,554 (14.01%) Minor parties: 9,210 (2.96%)

County commissioners Julie Wheeler, President, Republican Scott Burford, Vice President, Republican Doug Hoke, Commissioner, Democrat

Other county offices

Clerk of Courts, Dan Byrnes, Republican Controller, Greg Bower, Republican Coroner, Pamela Gay, Republican District Attorney, Tim Barker, Republican Prothonotary, Allison Blew, Republican Recorder of Deeds, Laura Shue, Republican Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court, Bryan Tate, Republican Sheriff, Richard P. Keuerleber III, Republican Treasurer, Barbara Bair, Republican

State House of Representatives District Representative Party47 Joe D'Orsie Republican92 Dawn Keefer Republican93 Mike Jones Republican94 Wendy Fink Republican95 Carol Hill-Evans Democratic169 Kate Klunk Republican196 Seth Grove Republican

State senate District Senator Party28 Kristin Phillips-Hill Republican31 Mike Regan Republican

United States House of Representatives District Representative Party10 Scott Perry Republican11 Lloyd Smucker Republican

United States Senate Senator Party Dave McCormick Republican John Fetterman Democratic

Education

Public school districts School districts include: – Text list

Vocational school York County School of Technology

Public charter schools

Crispus Attucks Youthbuild Charter School (K–6) – York Helen Thackston Charter School (6–12) – YorkPennsylvania Operating Charter Schools 2009–10, Pennsylvania Department of Education Report September 2009 Lincoln Charter School (K–5) – York New Hope Academy Charter School (K–6) – York York Academy Regional Charter School (K–12) York Adams Academy (formerly York County High School)

Independent schools

Intermediate Unit