Columbia County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

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. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,727. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Bloomsburg. The county was created on March 22, 1813, from part of Northumberland County. It was named Columbia, alluding to the United States and

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

. The county is part of the Central region of the commonwealth. Columbia County is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. The southern tip of Columbia County is part of the

Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically defined ...

. The area of the county from the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

south to several miles south of

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

consists mostly of farmland and state game lands. Several communities developed along the Susquehanna River, such as Bloomsburg and Catawissa. From the Susquehanna River north as far as Waller, the county is mostly farmland with several patches of forest. North of Waller, the county is mostly state game lands and mountains.maps.google.com The major streams in Columbia County are the

, Fishing Creek, Briar Creek, Catawissa Creek, and Roaring Creek. The county has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb'') and average monthly temperatures in Bloomsburg average from in January to in July.

Mountains

''Note: Only mountains higher than are listed'' Source:

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Sullivan County (north) * Luzerne County (east) * Schuylkill County (southeast) * Northumberland County (southwest) * Montour County (west) * Lycoming County (northwest)

State park

Part of Ricketts Glen State Park is in the northern portion of Columbia County.

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 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of . 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. 33.2% were of German, 10.0% American, 9.4% Irish, 8.1%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, 6.7% Polish and 6.2% English ancestry. 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 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, 8.70% 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.

2020 census

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

has designated Columbia County as the Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census the metropolitan area ranked 20th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 368th most populous in the United States with a population of 82,562. Columbia County is also a part of the larger Bloomsburg-Berwick-Sunbury, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the populations of Columbia County as well as Montour,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, Snyder and Union Counties in Pennsylvania. The Combined Statistical Area ranked 8th in the State of Pennsylvania and 115th most populous in the United States with a population of 264,739.

Politics and government

Voter registration

As of February 6, 2024, there were 39,054 registered voters in Columbia County. * Republican: 20,820 (53.31%) * Democratic: 12,268 (31.41%) *

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

: 4,360 (11.16%) * Third Party: 1,606 (4.11%) While the county registration tends to be evenly matched between Democrats and Republicans, the county trends Republican in statewide elections.

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

carried the county by more than 30 points in both 2016 and 2020. While

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

received 51.6% of its vote to 47.1% for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, this was a far-closer margin than the 20 points that

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

carried it by in 2004. Each of the three row-office statewide winners carried Columbia in 2008. In 2006, Democrat Bob Casey Jr. received 51% of its vote when he unseated incumbent Republican US Senator

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...

and Ed Rendell received 50.6% of the vote against Lynn Swann. For many years Columbia County was represented in the State House by a conservative Democrat in the 109th district until John Gordner changed parties to Republican in 2001. He was elected to the State Senate in 2003 and succeeded by Republican David R. Millard. Columbia is in the 27th Senate district and 11th Congressional district.

County commissioners

Other county officials

State senate

State House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Education

Colleges and universities

* Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Public school districts

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Benton Area School District * Berwick Area School District (also in Luzerne County) * Bloomsburg Area School District * Central Columbia School District * Millville Area School District * Mount Carmel Area School District (also in Northumberland County) * North Schuylkill School District (also in Schuylkill County) * Southern Columbia Area School District (also in Northumberland County)

Technical school

* Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School

Charter school

* SusQ Cyber Charter School - Bloomsburg

Private schools

*Bald Hill School - Millville *Bloomsburg Christian School - Bloomsburg *Bloomsburg University Special Education Institute *Columbia Co Christian School - Bloomsburg *Greenwood Friends School - Millville *Heritage Christian Academy - Berwick *Holy Family Consolidate - Berwick *Keystone National High School - Bloomsburg *New Story - Berwick *Pennsylvania Institute For Conservation Education - Bloomsburg *Rainbow Hill School - Benton *St Columba School - Bloomsburg *Saint Matthews - Bloomsburg *Turkey Ridge School - Bloomsburg

Libraries

*Bloomsburg Public Library *Columbia County Traveling Library *McBride Memorial Library *Orangeville Public Library

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, townships, and, in at most two cases,

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. The following town, boroughs and townships are located in Columbia County:

Town

* Bloomsburg (county seat)

Boroughs

* Ashland (mostly in Schuylkill County) * Benton * Berwick * Briar Creek * Catawissa * Centralia * Millville * Orangeville * Stillwater

Townships

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

* Benton * Briar Creek * Catawissa *

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

* Conyngham * Fishing Creek * Franklin * Greenwood * Hemlock * Jackson *

Locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...

* Madison * Main * Mifflin * Montour * Mount Pleasant * North Centre * Orange *

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

* Roaring Creek * Scott * South Centre *

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

Census-designated places

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

s are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well. * Almedia * Aristes * Buckhorn * Espy * Eyers Grove * Fernville * Foundryville * Iola * Jamison City * Jerseytown *

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

* Lightstreet * Lime Ridge * Locustdale (partially in Schuylkill County) * Mainville * Mifflinville *

* Rohrsburg * Rupert * Slabtown * Waller * Wilburton Number One * Wilburton Number Two

Unincorporated communities

* Central * Elk Grove * Mifflin Cross Roads

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Columbia County. † ''county seat''

References

{{coord, 41.05, -76.40, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1813 establishments in Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area Northeastern Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1813