Carbon County, Pennsylvania

Carbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 58,802.

Carbon County marks the northern border of the Lehigh Valley region of the state and is considered part of the state's Coal Region.

Its county seat is Jim Thorpe ⁶.

Law And Government

Pennsylvania State Senate

Pennsylvania House Of Representatives

Keith R. McCall, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 122nd Legislative District

United States House Of Representatives

Paul E. Kanjorski, Democrat, 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania

History

Carbon County was created on March 13, 1843 from parts of Northampton and Monroe Counties and was named for the extensive deposits of coal in the region.

Carbon County is the location of the trials and executions of the controversial Molly Maguires, an Irish secret society that had been accused of terrorizing the region.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,003 km² (387 mi²). 987 km² (381 mi²) of it is land and 16 km² (6 mi²) of it (1.60%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Luzerne County (north)
Monroe County (east)
Northampton County (southeast)
Lehigh County (south)
Schuylkill County (southwest)

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 60/km² (154/mi²). There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 31/km² (80/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82% White, 0.60% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 23,701 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.20% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.