Columbia County, Pennsylvania

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 64,151.

Columbia County was created on March 22, 1813 from part of Northumberland County and named for Columbia, a poetic name for the United States that alludes to Christopher Columbus. Its county seat is Bloomsburg ⁶.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,269 km² (490 mi²). 1,258 km² (486 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it (0.87%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was 51/km² (132/mi²). There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of 22/km² (57/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.59% White, 0.80% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 24,915 households out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out with 20.80% under the age of 18, 14.30% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.