Wilkins 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 ...

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

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 6,357 at the 2010 census. It is served by Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, the 43rd District of the

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, and the 34th District of the

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. Wilkins Township was named for William Wilkins (1779–1865), a politician from Pennsylvania who served in both houses of Congress and as U.S. Secretary of War.

History

The township was created from the eastern part of Pitt Township on November 10, 1821. Its territory originally stretched between the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers; from it sprang most of the municipalities between

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

on the west and

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and Monroeville on the east.

Geography

Wilkins Township is located at (40.422668, -79.823491). According to the

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, the township has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²), all land.

Watershed

The southeastern border of the township is denoted by Thompson Run, a tributary of Turtle Creek. The township is drained by Thompson Run and its tributaries Sawmill Run and Chalfant Run, which in turn has a tributary, Lougeay Run, which flows into the township from Penn Hills. The entire township lies within the Turtle Creek Watershed.

Transportation

Interstate 376 Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania Tu ...

passes through the northern limb of the township, where it has an exit just as it enters eastbound from Churchill Borough, number 81 onto PA 791/Rodi Road/ Yellow Belt northbound into Penn Hills. The business spur of U.S. Route 22 enters eastbound from Churchill, and is where the main commercial section of Wilkins township is located, including the ''Penn Center East'' shopping center. US Business 22 crosses Thompson Run from Wilkins Township to Monroeville over the Hall Station Bridge. PA 130 serves the southern portion of the township. The Union Railroad, following the Thompson Run valley, passes through the eastern fringe of the township.

Surrounding neighborhoods

Wilkins Township has eight borders, including Penn Hills to the north, Monroeville to the east, Turtle Creek to the southeast, East Pittsburgh to the south, North Braddock to the south-southwest, Chalfant to the southwest, Forest Hills to the west and Churchill to the northwest and north-northwest.

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 6,917 people, 3,235 households, and 2,012 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 3,432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 92.79%

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 ...

, 4.38%

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, 0.09% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.06%

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, 0.19% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 0.45% of the population were

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or Latino of any race. There were 3,235 households, out of which 19.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% 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, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.73. In the township the population was spread out, with 16.9% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 25.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $37,439, and the median income for a family was $47,882. Males had a median income of $37,127 versus $31,101 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 $24,515. About 3.8% of families and 6.4% 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 7.8% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Wilkins Township is served by the Woodland Hills School District.

Government and politics

References

External links

Wilkins Township official website1850 map of Allegheny County
showing Wilkins Township at its maximum extent {{Authority control Townships in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania