Pennsylvania Population and Demographics

Published: October 1, 2020 11:02 am

Population

Pennsylvania is a state in the Northeastern United States with a population of 12,791,181 and land area of 44,743 square miles. It ranks as the sixth largest state by population and the 19th smallest state by area.

Race and Ethnicity

According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, 76.80% of state residents identify as white, 10.60% as Black or African American, 0.10% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 3.30% as Asian, 0.00% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 7.10% as Hispanic or Latino, and 2.00% as some other race or combination of races.

Nationally, some 61.1% of Americans identify as white, 12.3% as Black or African American, 0.7% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.4% as Asian, 0.2% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 17.8% as Hispanic or Latino, and 2.6% as some other race or combination of races.

Ancestry

Census respondents are also asked to report ancestry. Some of the most commonly reported ancestries in Pennsylvania include German, Irish, Italian, English, and Polish. Measured by location quotient -- comparing the state share to the national share -- some of the most highly concentrated ancestries in Pennsylvania are Pennsylvania German, Carpatho Rusyn, and Slovak.

Native and foreign-born population

An estimated 93.20% of Pennsylvania residents are native-born, meaning they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area, or abroad to a U.S. citizen.

Of the 6.80% of the population that is foreign-born, 52.50% have become naturalized U.S. citizens. Nationwide, 86.5% of Americans are native-born. And of the 13.5% of Americans who are foreign-born, 48.8% have become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Age

The population of Pennsylvania is older than the United States as a whole. The median age in the state is 40.7 years old, 2.8 years more than the national median age of 37.9 years. An estimated 17.40% of the population is 65 years and over, compared to 15.2% of the U.S. population.

Family and household composition

Family and household composition also varies heavily across the United States. In Pennsylvania, 47.90% of households are occupied by married-couple families, compared to the 48.3% national figure. Some 4.60% of households are occupied by single male householders, 11.80% by single female householders, and 35.70% by non-family occupants. Nationwide, 4.9% of households are occupied by single male householders, 12.6% by single female householders, and 34.3% by non-family occupants. An estimated 69.00% of heads of household own their homes, compared to the national homeownership rate of 63.8%.

Language spoken

As is the case across the United States, English is the most commonly spoken language in Pennsylvania. Of the 12,081,900 people aged 5 and up living in Pennsylvania, 95.7% speak English exclusively, or, if they are multilingual, speak English very well. Not only is English the predominantly spoken language in the state, its usage is even more common than it is nationwide where an average of 91.5% of the 5 and older population only speaks English, or speak it very well.

Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the United States. In Pennsylvania, 4.9% of the population aged 5 and older speaks Spanish, the 23rd smallest share among all states. Nationwide, 13.3% of all Americans in the same age group speak Spanish.

Marital status

Residents of Pennsylvania are more likely to be married than the typical American. Of the 10.6 million Pennsylvania residents aged 15 and older, 48.2% are currently married, compared to 48.1% of Americans nationwide in the same age group. Divorce, meanwhile, is less common in the state than it is nationwide. In Pennsylvania, 9.6% of the 15 and older population is divorced, compared to the 10.8% share of the same age group across the U.S. as a whole.

An estimated 33.3% of Pennsylvania residents 15 and older have never married, compared to one-third of Americans in the same age group.

Veterans

In Pennsylvania, 7.7% of the 18 and over population are veterans -- slightly above the 7.5% of adult civilians who have served in the military nationwide. Compared to other states, Pennsylvania is home to the 16th smallest share of military veterans.

As is the case nationwide, the largest share of veterans living in the state served in the Vietnam era. Of Pennsylvania’s 782,700 resident veterans, 5.8% served in World War II, 36.7% served in the Vietnam War, 15.2% served in the period between the beginning of the Gulf War and 2001, and 12.7% served since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. An additional 83,000 men and women served during the Korean War.

Educational attainment

In Pennsylvania, adults are more likely to have a high school education than the typical American adult, but less likely to have a four-year college education. Among Pennsylvania residents 25 and older, 90.2% have a high school diploma or equivalent, and 30.8% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 87.7% and 31.5% of adults nationwide, respectively.

Income

Though it is not always the case, incomes tend to rise with educational attainment rates across broad populations -- and Pennsylvania is no exception. With a lower than average bachelor’s degree attainment rate, the state also has a slightly lower than average median income. The typical household in Pennsylvania earns $59,445 a year, about $800 less than the national median household income of $60,293.

Additionally, Pennsylvania has a lower than average concentration of wealthy residents. An estimated 6% of households in the state earn $200,000 or more annually, compared to 7.0% of households nationwide.

Poverty

Despite the slightly lower than average median household income, serious financial hardship is less common in the state than it is nationwide. The poverty rate in Pennsylvania stands at 12.8%, while the national poverty rate is 14.1%.