Carbon County, Pennsylvania

Population Information

As of July 1, 2022, Carbon County has an estimated population of 65,460 residents¹⁸. The Best Places article on carbon county says that 45% of the population is religious¹⁵. (Figure 2) shows more details on religion according to City-Data.com and Figure 3. shows the ethnicity of the county population¹⁷. The median household income in Carbon County in 2022 according to 2018-2022 data was $64,538, while the US median household income was $75,149¹⁸. The per capita income of 2022 was $34,375, which means the income calculated for every person in a certain group living in those group spaces, divided by the total population¹⁸. The percentage of Carbon County’s population facing poverty is 10.2-18.6%¹⁸. 

Government Structure

Before presenting Carbon County’s government structure, I will describe that of the commonwealth. The government of Pennsylvania consists of an executive branch, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the Legislative Branch with the House of Representatives and Senate, and the Judicial Branch which has a hierarchical structure headed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania¹³. The Carbon County government structure is under the administration of a Board of Commissioners that constitute the governing body of the county⁵. This Board of Commissioners has three positions, with unique elections of the people voting for two people. They provide services, accommodations and supporting facilities for the county court⁶. The group sits on various other boards with additional members for each. Their other roles include things such as holding elections and maintaining legal records⁶. The government offices run out of the county courthouse and administration buildings located in Jim Thorpe, PA. Each town in the county has their own elected mayor. 

Natural Resources

The county’s economy and natural resources intersect in a variety of ways, and connect to the history of the county. In 1827, Carbon County became home to America’s first large scale gravity railway with the purpose of transporting coal from the mining town of Summit Hill to the Lehigh canal that started in Jim Thorpe and follows the Lehigh river to Lehighton, PA¹¹. Also known as the Switchback Railroad, today it serves recreational purposes as the Switchback Trail. The mining, transportation, and use of anthracite coal had Carbon County bustling into the early 1960s. Anthracite coal was by far the county’s main economic contributor and largest used natural resource. A decline in the anthracite coal industry caused these contributions to phase out¹¹. Today, the county experiences population and industry growth which is thought to be related to movement from the East Coast metropolitan area into the Pocono Mountain region². Figure 4. shows the largest industries in Carbon County based on the number of people they employ and is linked here². The county chamber of commerce promotes economic development and the county’s natural resources².

As mentioned before, coal was a major natural resource exported from the county in the past and still is today in the neighboring county. Today, access to nature and recreation are a driving resource of the county with activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, river rafting, camping, skiing, and more². These activities are available through different places such as ski resorts, lake communities, camping grounds, and parks. 

Healthcare & Education

Seen in figure 4., healthcare and social assistance are the largest employing industries in Carbon County according to the chambers website². An article from US News shares assessments of population health categories from 2022.  To sum it up; 6.7% of the population does not have health insurance, the smoking rate is 1.7% higher than the national average, and the overall population health score is 50/100 while the commonwealth is 52 and the US is 47⁹. A new hospital was built in the county in 2021 for the first time 65 years with funding from a federal loan program⁸. 

The Lehigh Valley Health Network Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Carbon County report also explains education statistics of 49.51% of the population ages 3-4 are “enrolled in school,” there is an 86.6% graduation rate among high school students, and 17.89% of the population age 25+ have bachelor’s degrees or higher¹⁷. The county has few different K-12 public school districts which receive funding from the state and fewer private school options which can be religion based and not suitable for low income families.