Broad Top Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Bedford County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2020 census.

General information

*ZIP codes: 16678, 16679 *Area code: 814 *Local telephone exchanges: 635, 928

Geography

Broad Top Township is located in northeastern Bedford County, situated on a portion of the

Broad Top Broad Top is a plateau located in south-central Pennsylvania. It extends into Huntingdon County to the north, Fulton County to the southeast, and Bedford County to the southwest. It is bounded to the west by Saxton Mountain and Terrace Mounta ...

plateau. Most of its western boundary follows the Raystown Branch of the

Juniata River The Juniata River () is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 8, 2011 in central Pennsylvania. The river is ...

, and its southern boundary follows the ridgecrest of Harbor Mountain. The township is bordered to the south by East Providence Township, to the southwest by West Providence Township, to the west by Hopewell Township, and to the northwest by Liberty Township. To the north is

Huntingdon County Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

, with Hopewell Township touching at Broad Top Township's northernmost point, Carbon Township to the north, and Wood Township to the northeast. To the east, in Fulton County, is Wells Township. The township includes the unincorporated community of

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

. The boroughs of Coaldale and Hopewell are each surrounded by but are not part of Broad Top Township. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.63%, is water.

Recreation

A portion of the

Buchanan State Forest Buchanan State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #2. The main office is located in McConnellsburg in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The forest also includes tracts in Fra ...

along the eastern border of the township with Taylor Township, and the entire

Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 261 The Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 261 are Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Bedford County in Pennsylvania in the United States providing hunting, bird watching, and other activities. Geography SGL 104 consists of a single parcel loca ...

is located in the township southeast of Hopewell.https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/ The National Map, retrieved October 22, 2018Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 261
retrieved October 22, 2018

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,827 people, 708 households, and 523 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 888 housing units at an average density of 18.4/sq mi (7.1/km). The racial makeup of the township was 99.12%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.22%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.16% Native American, 0.16% Asian, and 0.33% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population. There were 708 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.98. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $30,250, and the median income for a family was $33,289. Males had a median income of $29,280 versus $18,229 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $14,781. About 10.0% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1785 Townships in Bedford County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania