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TheTwin Tiers are the collective counties that lie on theNew York–Pennsylvania border on either side of the42nd parallel north. The region is predominantly rural and contains many small towns.
Separately, the two halves of the Twin Tiers region are known as theSouthern Tier region in thestate of New York and theNorthern Tier region in theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania. The "Northern" and "Southern" designations are relative to the states in which they are located, not relative to each other.
The Twin Tiers region is usually defined as including these counties:
| Northern Tier | Southern Tier |
|---|---|
McKean, Potter, and (less often)Cameron Counties refer to themselves as part of the Twin Tiers, but almost never consider themselves part of the Northern Tier, instead going by the name "Northern Pennsylvania". Significant ambiguity often exists in regions: for instance, the western part of the region (McKean and Potter Counties) often associate themselves withSt. Marys, a city larger than any city in that area, but inElk County, just south of what is considered "Northern Tier" by any standard. This broader area is also known as thePennsylvania Wilds.
Erie County, Pennsylvania, andWarren County, Pennsylvania, are almost never considered part of the Twin Tiers, though portions of Warren County are occasionally associated with the rest of the region.
The region was historically a disputed territory in the history of the United States prior to its founding. The Northern Tier was claimed byPennsylvania Colony andConnecticut Colony, while the Southern Tier was claimed by Pennsylvania,Province of Massachusetts Bay, andNew York Colony. Various treaties and land sales eventually placed the Northern Tier in Pennsylvania's hands and the Southern Tier in New York's.
The region's name originated in 1968 as part of a marketing campaign in theElmira Star-Gazette that used twins.[1]