Northampton County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,951. Its county seat is Easton. The county was formed in 1752 from parts of Bucks County. Its namesake was the county of Northamptonshire in England, and the county seat of Easton was named for Easton Neston, a country house in Northamptonshire.
Northampton County and Lehigh County to its west combine to form the eastern Pennsylvania region known as the Lehigh Valley; Lehigh County, with a population of 374,557 as of the 2020 U.S. census, is the more highly populated of the two counties. Both counties are part of the Philadelphia media market, the fifth-largest in the nation.
Northampton County has historically been a national leader in heavy manufacturing, especially of cement, steel, and other industrial products. Atlas Portland Cement Company, the world's largest cement manufacturer from 1895 until 1982, was based in Northampton in the county. Bethlehem Steel, the world's second-largest manufacturer of steel for most of the 20th century, was based in Bethlehem, the county's most populous city, prior to its dissolution in 2003.
Northampton County borders Carbon County and the Poconos to its north, Lehigh County to its west, Bucks County to its south, and the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east. The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, flows through the county.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water. The climate is humid continental (mostly Dfa with a little Dfb in higher northern areas) and the hardiness zone is 7a except in the northern tier where it is 6b. Average monthly temperatures in downtown Bethlehem average from 29.1 °F in January to 74.1 °F in July, while in Wind Gap, they average from 27.0 °F in January to 71.7 °F in July. Both the Lehigh and Delaware rivers flow through the county. Kittatinny Ridge is to its north. South Mountain is to its south. Paxinosa Mountains are to its east.
Adjacent counties Monroe County (north) Warren County, New Jersey (east) Bucks County (south) Lehigh County (west) Carbon County (northwest)
National protected areas Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (part) Middle Delaware National Scenic River (part)
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Northampton County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)212,821227,521235,666241,163228,37394.41%92.07%88.24%81.00%72.97%Black or African American alone (NH)3,8754,9686,88613,20717,4291.72%2.01%2.58%4.44%5.57%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1121872933292510.05%0.08%0.11%0.11%0.08%Asian alone (NH)1,1712,6383,6107,1319,8920.52%1.07%1.35%2.40%3.16%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 Census507475xx0.02%0.02%0.02%Other race alone (NH)3802002774221,6470.17%0.08%0.10%0.14%0.53%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2,4164,23010,687xx0.90%1.42%3.41%Hispanic or Latino (any race)7,05911,59117,86831,17944,5973.13%4.69%6.69%10.47%14.25%Total225,418247,105267,066297,735312,951 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 312,951, reflecting growth of 5.1% over 2010. The median age was 42.6 years, 19.6% of residents were under the age of 18, and 19.9% were 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.3 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 76.2% White, 6.2% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.9% from some other race, and 8.2% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 14.3% of the population.
83.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 16.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 121,015 households in the county, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.8% were married-couple households, 17.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 127,584 housing units, of which 5.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 70.4% were owner-occupied and 29.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, the county was 81.0% White Non-Hispanic, 5.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.2% were two or more races, and 3.8% were some other race. 10.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.
Economy
Northampton County is part of the larger Lehigh Valley metropolitan region, which was historically a global leader in heavy manufacturing. As of 2023, the Lehigh Valley's gross domestic product (GDP) was $ billion, led by its manufacturing sector, which comprised $9 billion, or 16 percent."Lehigh Valley GDP grows to record $55.7 billion", Lehigh Valley Business, December 10, 2024, retrieved January 3, 2024
The county served as the global headquarters of Bethlehem Steel, founded in 1857 and based in Bethlehem, which was the nation's second-largest steel manufacturer after U.S. Steel for most of the 20th century. In 1982, Bethlehem Steel reported an unexpected loss of US$1.5 billion, and responded by promptly shutting down much of its operations. In 2001, the company declared bankruptcy, and it was dissolved in 2003. The plight of Bethlehem Steel is often cited as a prominent example of the impact of deindustrialization associated with the Rust Belt regions of the U.S. during the late 20th century."Rust Belt Allure of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania", Pacific Standard, October 6, 2013
The county is also home to the global headquarters of C. F. Martin & Company, based in Nazareth, which manufacturers Martin Guitars, used by Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Neil Young, John Lennon, Willie Nelson, Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and other prominent guitarists."Artists Who Play Martin Guitars", Guitar Guitar, July 2, 2024
Government Northampton is one of the seven counties in Pennsylvania which has adopted a home rule charter. Voters elect a county executive, a nine-person county council, a county controller, and a county district attorney. The executive, controller, district attorney, and five of the nine council members are elected at large by all voters in the county. The other four members of the county council are elected from single-member districts, which they represent. This weighted structure of county government favors the majority of voters. The county's row officers are nominated by the county executive and approved by county council.
Politics
As of January 8, 2024, there were 219,719 registered voters in Northampton County Democratic: 95,780 (43.59%) Republican: 80,828 (36.79%) No affiliation: 32,480 (14.78%) Other parties: 10,631 (4.84%)
Northampton County is considered one of Pennsylvania's "swing counties," with statewide winners carrying it in most cases. As of 2024, the last presidential election where Northampton County did not back the statewide winner was in 1948.
In the 2024 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, Republican Dave McCormick won the election and Northampton County, while losing Erie County, Pennsylvania. The county also closely mirrored the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Pennsylvania, which was won by Republican Donald Trump (50.2% to 48.5%), compared to Trump winning Northampton County 50.4% to 48.62%.
Voting machine problems
2019 election In November 2019, municipal elections were in Pennsylvania in November 2019, and the county's result tabulations were plagued with problems caused by newly purchased voting machines, known as ExpressVoteXL, which were manufactured and sold to the county by Election Systems & Software (ES&S), an Omaha, Nebraska-based company, as representing a luxury one-stop voting system.
According to The New York Times and other media, a few minutes after polls closed in the county in 2019, panic began to spread through the county's election offices as it became evident that vote totals in one judge's race showed one candidate, Abe Kassis, a Democrat, had received just 164 votes out of 55,000 ballots across more than the 100 precincts in the county; Some precinct machines reported zero votes for him."A Pennsylvania County's Election Day Nightmare Underscores Voting Machine Concerns," The New York Times, November 30, 2019.
The ES&S voting system, which is used in other Pennsylvania jurisdictions, features a touch screen with a paper ballot backup. County officials ultimately calculated results by counting paper ballots, which showed Kassis actually won the election by 1,054 votes, according to unofficial results that were announced on November 6. The election results were later certified following a canvass and audit, and no challenges to the results were filed."Pennsylvania says election went well but Republicans disagree; both following Northampton County problems," The Morning Call, November 6, 2019
2023 election On November 7, 2023, ExpressVoteXL machines again malfunctioned in calculating votes for Superior Court of Pennsylvania judges with the machines switching "yes" and "no" votes on the summary display of votes on whether the judges should be retained. The county's director of administration, Charles Dertinger, attributed the problem to the summary display and not the actual ballots."Pennsylvania county promises accurate tally after clerical error appears to flip votes for judges" The Associated Press, November 7, 2023
County executives + Northampton County executives Name Party Term start Term end Glenn F. Reibman Democratic 1998 2006 John Stoffa Democratic 2006 2014 John Brown Republican 2014 2018 Lamont McClure Democratic 2018 2026 Tara Zrinski Democratic 2026 incumbent
State representatives Source: Milou Mackenzie, Republican, 131st district Steve Samuelson, Democrat, 135th district Robert L. Freeman, Democrat, 136th district Joe Emrick, Republican, 137th district Ann Flood, Republican, 138th district Zach Mako, Republican, 183rd district
State senators Source: Nick Miller, Democrat, 14th district Lisa Boscola, Democrat, 18th district
United States House of Representatives Ryan Mackenzie, Republican, 7th district
United States Senate Dave McCormick, Republican John Fetterman, Democrat
Education
Colleges and universities Lafayette College, Easton Lehigh University, Bethlehem Moravian University, Bethlehem Northampton County Area Community College, Bethlehem Township Respect Graduate School, Bethlehem
Public school districts
School districts include: - Text list - 2010 map and text list
Bangor Area School District Bangor Area High School, Bangor Bethlehem Area School District Freedom High School, Bethlehem Township Liberty High School, Bethlehem Catasauqua Area School District Catasauqua High School, Northampton Easton Area School District Easton Area High School, Easton Nazareth Area School District Nazareth Area High School, Nazareth Northampton Area School District Northampton Area High School, Northampton Northern Lehigh School District Pen Argyl Area School District Pen Argyl Area High School, Pen Argyl Saucon Valley School District Saucon Valley High School, Hellertown Wilson Area School District Wilson Area High School, Easton
Public charter schools Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Bethlehem