Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

Bloomsburg is a town located in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. It is the only municipality incorporated as a "town" in Pennsylvania. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 12,375. It is the county seat of Columbia County⁶. The town is home to Bloomsburg University and the Bloomsburg Fair.

Only Town

Bloomsburg holds the honor of being the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania, with all other municipalities being classifieds as boroughs, cities, villages or other types. However, many other municipalities are often mistakenly referred to as towns. Bloomsburg's slogan is "The only REAL town in Pennsylvania."

Geography

Bloomsburg is located at 41°0'2" North, 76°27'14" West (41.000614, -76.453950)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.0 km² (4.6 mi²). 11.4 km² (4.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.98% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 12,375 people, 4,080 households, and 1,791 families residing in the town. The population density is 1,088.4/km² (2,818.1/mi²). There are 4,399 housing units at an average density of 386.9/km² (1,001.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 94.42% White, 2.60% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 1.74% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 4,080 households out of which 19.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% are married couples living together, 9.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 56.1% are non-families. 35.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 2.83.

In the town the population is spread out with 12.3% under the age of 18, 45.5% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 12.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 77.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 74.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $24,868, and the median income for a family is $39,806. Males have a median income of $29,940 versus $19,961 for females. The per capita income for the town is $12,819. 31.2% of the population and 10.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.8% are under the age of 18 and 15.2% are 65 or older.

Education

Bloomsburg is served by the Bloomsburg Area School District, which has about 1,800 students enrolled. Students in some nearby townships attend Central Columbia School District, which serves about 2,100 students.

The town is also home to Bloomsburg University, one of the 14 institutions in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which has about 7,600 undergraduate and 760 graduate students.

Notable Businesses

Notable businesses located in or near the town of Bloomsburg include R.R. Donnelly & Sons, a book-binding company, Del Monte Foods and the Bloomsburg Hospital.

Local Media

Bloomsburg is served by one daily newspaper, Press Enterprise. Several radio stations also serve the area, including WHLM-AM (formerly WCNR-AM) and WFYY-FM (formerly WHLM-FM). The town is primarily served by Service Electric Cablevision and receives both the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market television stations and Philadelphia stations.

Nearby

Nearby municipalities include Danville, Berwick, Millville and Benton.