Pennsylvania: A State Profile
A Breakdown of One of the Original Thirteen Colonies
Quick Facts about Pennsylvania
Population (2020): 13,002,700
Land Area: 46,055 sq. mi.
Capital: Harrisburg
Largest City: Philadelphia (1,603,797)
State Bird: Ruffed Grouse
State Flower: Mountain-laurel
Nickname: The Keystone State
State Song: Pennsylvania
Founded: 1681, William Penn
Became a State: December 12, 1787
Pennsylvania is a landlocked state in the Northeast United States. It forms a water border in the Northwest corner of the state with Lake Erie, one of the five major Great Lakes. It is currently the 5th most populated state as of the 2020 Census, and the 33rd largest in area. That means that the ranking for density is near the top of the list in the United States. It comes in as the 9th most densely populated state.
You wouldn’t think that looking around the state. Much of the state is sparsely populated, minus the two biggest metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh (2,370,930) and Philadelphia (5,717,000).
Outside of these two large metropolitan areas, there is only one other city in the state that has over 100,000 people (Allentown). After that, cities like Reading and Erie are close to 100,000, and Erie even at one point did have over 100,000 people but are now under that threshold.
Then after that, ten more cities come in at over 50,000 including the smallest of those being the state capital of Harrisburg at 50,099.
With only a total of 15 cities over 50,000, Pennsylvania ranks as the state in the top 5 in the ranking for the total population in the United States with the lowest amount of these bigger cities. Even New York that is considered pretty sparsely populated outside of New York City even has 34 such cities.
Pennsylvania is also known for having the largest Amish community in the United States at 84,100. Ohio is a close second with 80,240. Going through the Pennsylvania countryside, you can see this often.
There are many attractions to see of historical significance in Pennsylvania as well. Being one of the original thirteen colonies, Pennsylvania has a ton of historical sites. One of these is the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
In Hershey, Pennsylvania, you can see Hershey’s Chocolate Factory and Hershey Park, a theme park. There is also Gettysburg Military Park. Gettysburg is where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address during the Civil War and where one of the most significant battles of that war was fought.
In Erie, Pennsylvania, you can come to visit a beautiful state park right on the banks of Lake Erie in Presque Isle State Park.
If you’re a fan of Rocky, you can head to Philadelphia to the steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and recreate the scene from the movies.
Pittsburgh houses the Andy Warhol Museum and also has a beautiful River Walk that includes a statue of Mr. Fred Rogers, and many other notable attractions right near the confluence of three rivers that converge in a notable part of the city. While you’re in Pittsburgh, you should also check out the incline cars that go up the hill.
If you’re a fan of the American Revolution, check out Valley Forge. this battle site is fairly close to Philadelphia and there are tours and a museum you can check out.
With so much to do in Pennsylvania and so much history to take in, you’ll never get bored traveling to one of the most historically significant and breathtakingly beautiful states in the United States.
