county

Centre County, PA

Demographic and economic profile of Centre County, PA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Centre County's economy is anchored by Pennsylvania State University, reflected in a highly educated workforce where 46.5% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher — well above national norms — against a median household income of $74,291 and median worker earnings of $33,889. The labor force of roughly 90,000 (56.0% participation rate) skews young, with a median age of 34.2, and operates in a relatively affordable market where median home values sit at $308,100 and median gross rent at $1,181 per month. Population has contracted 2.1% over five years, and a 16.9% poverty rate points to income concentration effects common in university-dominated counties.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

159,805

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$74,291

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

34.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.1% since 2018

Centre County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone133,022 (83.9%)
  • Asian Alone9,133 (5.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone5,257 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races5,032 (3.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race4,151 (2.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,492 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)3,873
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic3,630
  3. 3.Spanish3,559
  4. 4.Other Indo-European2,668
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island1,492

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

14.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

69.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

15.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

6,785

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$55,482

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,732

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance29,961
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services8,831
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)7,363
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services5,652
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)4,962

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations37,358
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations12,594
  3. 3.Service Occupations12,410
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,951
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations4,196

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.74×)30,042
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.23×)7,982
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 0.94×)7,535
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 0.79×)2,736
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 0.76×)898

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$308,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,181/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9997,200 (19.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9995,343 (14.7%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9994,952 (13.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9994,130 (11.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9993,795 (10.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,857 (5.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

46.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,889

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

10.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone45,092 (63.0%)
  • Worked At Home10,923 (15.3%)
  • Walked6,448 (9.0%)
  • Carpooled4,934 (6.9%)
  • Public Transit2,299 (3.2%)
  • Bicycle1,286 (1.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.