According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 487 square miles (1,260 km2), 483 square miles (1,250 km2) of which was land and 4.2 square miles (11 km2) (0.9%) of which was water.[5]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 856,553 and a median age of 41.4 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.7 males age 18 and over.[12]
96.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.3% lived in rural areas.[14]
There were 328,958 households in the county, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.0% were married-couple households, 15.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[12]
There were 346,877 housing units, of which 5.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 70.8% were owner-occupied and 29.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%.[12]
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Montgomery County ranges from the densely populatedrowhouse streets ofCheltenham Township (top) to the forests and open land aroundPerkiomen Creek in the northern part of the county (bottom).
Montgomery County is a suburb ofPhiladelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city. Many Montco residents work in the city, but the county is also a major employment center with large business parks inBlue Bell,Lansdale,Fort Washington,Horsham, andKing of Prussia attracting thousands of workers from all over the region. The strong job base and taxes generated by those jobs have resulted in Montgomery County receiving the highest credit rating of 'AAA' fromStandard & Poor's, one of fewer than 30 counties in the United States with such a rating.[18] In 2012,Moody's downgraded thegeneral obligation rating to Aa1,[19] and in 2018 the rating was revised back to Aaa.[20]
Map of Montgomery County with municipal labels showing boroughs (red), townships (white), and census-designated places (blue)
Under Pennsylvania law, five types of incorporated municipalities are listed:cities,boroughs,townships,home rule municipalities (which can include communities that bear the name "Borough" or "Township") and, in at most two cases,towns. These boroughs, townships, and home rule municipalities are located in Montgomery County:
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by theUnited States Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here, as well.
Even though the historic village of Valley Forge, as well as the park, are partially located within Montgomery County, the modern village is in Chester County, PA
The county is served by theSEPTA, which include bus, commuter rail, and interurban rail services.Pottstown Area Rapid Transit (PART) also provides bus services around thePottstown area in the western portion of the county.[26]
The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), anonprofit organization founded by Glenn Doman, was established inWyndmoor in 1955. The IAHP is an educational organization that teaches parents about child brain development, and is a treatment center for brain-injured children.
TheOld York Road Symphony, based inAbington, is one of the oldest all-volunteer orchestras in the country, founded in 1932.
The majority of the county has a hot-summerhumid continental climate (Dfa). In most southern areas of the county and along the Schuylkill River including Pottstown ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa) exists. Thehardiness zone is 7a for the majority of the county and 7b in most areas south of Interstate 276. 6b only continues to exist in some very small higher areas in the north.[1]
Climate data for Upper Hanover Twp (Elevation: 489 ft; 149 m) 1981 - 2010 Averages
Montgomery County historically was a stronghold for the Republican Party. The county was the only one carried byBarbara Hafer in the1990 gubernatorial election over the incumbent governor,Bob Casey. However, the Democratic Party has made substantial gains in the county over the last quarter-century and gained the registration edge early in 2008.
Like neighboringBucks County, the county voted Democratic during theCivil War era, voting Democratic between 1856 and 1876, except in 1860 and 1872. Like most of Philadelphia's suburbs, the brand of Republicanism practiced in Montgomery County for much of the 20th century was moderate. As the national parties have polarized, the county's voters have increasingly supported Democrats at the national level. The county voted for the Republican presidential nominee in all but three elections from 1880 to 1988, that being in 1892, 1912 and 1964. However, Montgomery County residents have voted for the Democratic presidential nominee since 1992, with the margins progressively increasing between every election, except in 2012. In the 2020 election,Joe Biden became the first Democrat to obtain over 60% of the county's vote.
DespiteDonald Trump's victory in the state of Pennsylvania in the2016 presidential election, Montgomery County was one of the few counties in Pennsylvania that swung in the Democratic presidential candidates' direction withHillary Clinton winning Montgomery County with 58.87% of the vote, an improvement fromBarack Obama's 56.6% vote share in 2012. In the 2016 U.S. Senate and Pennsylvania Attorney General elections, Montgomery County voted forKatie McGinty andJosh Shapiro, both Democrats.[30]
Most county-level offices were held by Republicans until after the 2007 election, when Democrats picked up control of five row offices. Democrats have also won several elections in thePennsylvania General Assembly in recent years, including two GOP-leaningState House districts in 2004, the148th withMike Gerber and the153rd with currentGovernorJosh Shapiro. Today, although the county is very Democratic at the national level, at the state and local level, it is not specifically partisan.
In the2004 United States Senate election, RepublicanArlen Specter won the county over Montco residentJoe Hoeffel, but DemocratBob Casey, Jr. out-polledRick Santorum in the 2006 Senate election. In 2006, Democrat Rick Taylor unseated incumbent Republican Eugene McGill in the151st, although Taylor lost in 2010 to Republican Todd Stephens and, in 2008, Democrat Matthew Bradford unseated incumbent Republican Jay Moyer in the70th. Six of the county's 12 state house seats and four of the county's eight senate seats are now held by Democrats. All four statewide Democratic candidates carried Montgomery in 2008, with Barack Obama receiving 59% of the county's vote.
United States presidential election results for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania[31]
Montgomery County is governed by a three-personcounty commission. The current composition is two Democrats and one Republican. By law, the county commission must have one member of a minority party represented.
On July 24, 2013, Montgomery County Register of WillsD. Bruce Hanes, aDemocrat, announced he would begin issuingmarriage licenses tosame-sex couples, flouting Pennsylvania law banning such unions. Hanes called the commonwealth's ban "arbitrary and suspect", saying he believes it violates thePennsylvania Constitution and theUnited States Constitution. TheRepublican administration of GovernorTom Corbett filed suit in theCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in an attempt to block Hanes from licensing same-sex marriage.[33] Commonwealth Court JudgeDan Pellegrini ordered Hanes in September 2013 to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses. After Federal JudgeJohn Jones threw out Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage in May 2014, calling it unconstitutional, offices in other counties were able to issue these licenses, while Hanes had to wait for the ruling against him to be removed.[34]
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