Pennsylvania population, ancestry and demographics

A record population, growing at a crawl

Pennsylvania's July 2025 estimate of 13,059,432 is the highest the state has recorded in any census or annual estimate. The margin is thin. The state added 56,679 people between April 2020 and July 2025, a gain of 0.44%, 2.7 percentage points below the US figure (3.10%) and the 10th lowest rate among the states. One year earlier, in July 2024, the estimate stood at 13,045,848¹.

Slow growth is not new. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses Pennsylvania grew by 2.4%, 5.0 percentage points below the US figure (7.4%)⁶. After the 2020 count Pennsylvania's seats in the House of Representatives changed by −1, to 17⁹, which gives the state 19¹⁰ electoral votes.

German, Irish, Italian, and the most Slovaks of any state

The American Community Survey asks people about their ethnic origin and tabulates up to two ancestries per person, so the groups overlap and their shares do not add up to the whole population. In 2025, 2.6 million Pennsylvanians reported German ancestry (19.6%), the largest German-ancestry population of any state. Irish ancestry followed with 1.9 million (14.5%), then Italian with 1.3 million (10.1%) and English with 1.0 million. Polish ancestry, at 625,000¹¹, is the 5th highest¹² share in the country.

The state stands out most for groups from Central and Eastern Europe. On 2020–2024 counts, Pennsylvania has the largest population of Slovak ancestry (153,622) and the highest share. It also has the largest Carpatho-Rusyn population, the highest Croatian share, the 2nd highest Ukrainian share and the 3rd highest¹² Hungarian share.

What percent of Pennsylvania is Amish?

There is no official figure. The census does not collect information about religious affiliation, and U.S. law prohibits the Census Bureau from requiring anyone to disclose it, so the Amish are not counted as a group in federal data. The U.S. Religion Census, which collects counts from congregations, found 72,609 adherents of Amish groups in 572 congregations in 2020, 0.56%¹³ of residents; the count includes children. Two federal survey measures are broader, and neither is limited to the Amish:

• Pennsylvania German ancestry. 88,575 residents reported it in 2025, 0.68%¹¹ of the population. On 2020–2024 counts Pennsylvania has the largest number in the country (99,953), ahead of Ohio (27,123¹²).
• Language spoken at home. The Census Bureau groups Pennsylvania Dutch with Yiddish and other West Germanic languages. 76,333¹⁴ Pennsylvanians aged 5 and older spoke one of them at home in 2025, the 2nd largest number after New York¹⁵.

Ranked second at nearly every census to 1940

The first census, in 1790, counted 434,373 people in Pennsylvania, the 2nd of 18 states counted that year. The state held second place at every census through 1940 except 1810, when it was 3rd of 28. The 1950 Census counted 10,498,012 residents, and the state ranked 3rd of 51, then slipped to 4th of 51¹⁶ in 1980 and 6th of 51 in 2000 before moving back to 5th of 51⁶ in 2020.

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990; Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment results and historical resident population 1910-2020; Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Census counts every ten years (April 1); estimates for July 1 after 2020.

Show the numbers

Year	Pennsylvania
1790	434,373
1800	602,365
1810	810,091
1820	1,049,458
1830	1,348,233
1840	1,724,033
1850	2,311,786
1860	2,906,215
1870	3,521,951
1880	4,282,891
1890	5,258,113
1900	6,302,115
1910	7,665,111
1920	8,720,017
1930	9,631,350
1940	9,900,180
1950	10,498,012
1960	11,319,366
1970	11,793,909
1980	11,863,895
1990	11,881,643
2000	12,281,054
2010	12,702,379
2020	13,002,700
2021	13,016,628
2022	12,984,655
2023	13,009,406
2024	13,045,848
2025	13,059,432

The long view shows the shape of the change. Today's population is 2.1 times the 1900 count, but only 1.2 times¹ the 1950 count. Between the 1970 census (11,793,909) and the 1990 census (11,881,643¹⁶) the total barely moved.

The largest natural decrease in the country

In the year to June 2025, Pennsylvania recorded 126,981 births and 137,689 deaths. The natural change of −10,708 was the lowest in the nation: no other state lost as many people to the gap between deaths and births. Pennsylvania is one of 17 states that recorded more deaths than births in the year to June 2025¹.

Vermont−1,769

New Mexico−1,885

New Hampshire−2,167

Alabama−2,188

Mississippi−2,607

Oregon−3,764

Michigan−4,998

Maine−5,019

West Virginia−7,887

Pennsylvania−10,708

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Period: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.

Show the numbers

State	Natural change 2024-25
Vermont	−1,769
New Mexico	−1,885
New Hampshire	−2,167
Alabama	−2,188
Mississippi	−2,607
Oregon	−3,764
Michigan	−4,998
Maine	−5,019
West Virginia	−7,887
Pennsylvania	−10,708

Part of this is size, since larger states record more of everything. Measured per resident, the natural change rate was −0.8 per 1,000 residents, the 8th lowest among the states. The birth rate, 9.7 per 1,000 residents, is 8% below the US figure (10.6 per 1,000 residents), while the death rate, 10.6 per 1,000 residents, is 16% above the US figure (9.1 per 1,000 residents). The gap was wider earlier in the decade: natural change was −25,683 in the year to June 2021 and −23,644 in the year to June 2022. Across the five years since April 2020, natural change totaled −89,333, the 2nd lowest figure in the country after Florida¹.

Immigration keeps the total rising

With natural decrease and a net loss to other states, the growth since 2020 comes from abroad. Net international migration added 196,721 people between April 2020 and June 2025, the 12th highest total in the country, while net domestic migration was −54,290¹.

Births+678,195

Deaths−767,528

Net domestic migration−54,290

Net international migration+196,721

Residual (estimation adjustment)+3,581

Total change+56,679

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Each bar starts where the previous one ended. The residual is the part of the change the Census Bureau cannot assign to a component.

Show the numbers

Component	People
Births	678,195
Deaths	−767,528
Net domestic migration	−54,290
Net international migration	196,721
Residual (estimation adjustment)	3,581
Total change	56,679

After a net gain of 28,598 in the year to June 2021, the domestic balance turned negative and the loss has shrunk each year since: −40,586 in the year to June 2022, −24,570 in 2023, −11,252 in 2024 and −2,936 in 2025. In the latest year net international migration of 26,921 equaled 198%¹ of the population gain: it was larger than the gain itself because the other components were negative.

Movers: New Jersey and New York in, Florida out

The Census Bureau's survey of movers shows Pennsylvania trading residents with New Jersey and New York in both directions. In 2024 the largest number of arrivals from another state came from New Jersey (38,467), statistically larger than the flow from New York, followed by New York and Florida. The largest number of departures went to Florida (33,530), statistically larger than the flow to New Jersey¹⁷.

Moved to Pennsylvania from

New Jersey38,467 ±4,874

New York29,274 ±4,078

Florida25,048 ±7,963

Maryland18,254 ±3,761

Ohio12,344 ±3,400

California10,777 ±2,315

Virginia8,597 ±2,499

North Carolina7,838 ±2,108

Left Pennsylvania for

Florida33,530 ±6,458

New Jersey25,902 ±3,756

New York23,152 ±3,265

Virginia15,246 ±3,605

North Carolina13,261 ±3,306

Texas12,979 ±3,357

Maryland12,638 ±2,389

Ohio11,009 ±2,338

Source: Census Bureau, State-to-State Migration Flows, 2024. People aged 1 and over who lived in another state a year earlier (and the reverse). Survey estimates: whiskers show the 90% margin of error.

Show the numbers

State	Moved in from	Moved out to
New Jersey	38,467 ±4,874	25,902 ±3,756
New York	29,274 ±4,078	23,152 ±3,265
Florida	25,048 ±7,963	33,530 ±6,458
Maryland	18,254 ±3,761	12,638 ±2,389
Ohio	12,344 ±3,400	11,009 ±2,338
California	10,777 ±2,315	9,266 ±2,532
Virginia	8,597 ±2,499	15,246 ±3,605
North Carolina	7,838 ±2,108	13,261 ±3,306
Texas	7,249 ±1,783	12,979 ±3,357

In all, 234,568 people moved in from other states and 251,701 moved out. The survey's net figure, −17,133, has a margin of error (±19,324¹⁷) larger than the estimate itself. IRS records for 2022 to 2023 point the same way: net migration counted on tax returns was −14,880, and the net income that moved with those filers was −$2.2 billion¹⁸.

Birthplaces tell a similar story. 69.1% of residents were born in Pennsylvania, 12.7 percentage points above the US figure (56.4%) and the 6th highest share in the country. Only 20.5% were born in another state; the largest group of them, 9.4%¹⁹ of all residents, came from elsewhere in the Northeast.

Urban and rural Pennsylvania

At the 2020 Census, 76.5% of Pennsylvanians lived in urban areas and 23.6% outside them. The rural share is 3.6 percentage points above the US figure (20.0%), 4th highest in the Northeast, and higher than Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York; lower than Ohio and West Virginia²⁰.

West Virginia55.4%

Ohio23.7%

Pennsylvania23.6%

United States20.0%

Delaware17.4%

Maryland14.4%

New York12.6%

New Jersey6.3%

Source: Census Bureau, 2020 Census urban and rural population by state. Period: April 1, 2020.

Show the numbers

State	Rural population (%)
West Virginia	55.4%
Ohio	23.7%
Pennsylvania	23.6%
United States	20.0%
Delaware	17.4%
Maryland	14.4%
New York	12.6%
New Jersey	6.3%

Yet the state is densely settled overall. With 291.9 people per square mile on 44,742 square miles²² of land, it is the 10th most densely populated state, 202% above the US figure (96.7 people per square mile)²¹. Density figures for Pennsylvania's cities and counties are outside this site, which covers states only.

Race and Hispanic origin

The at-a-glance figures above give the 2025 shares. The change since 2020 is the larger story. In the Census Bureau's population estimates, the non-Hispanic white share was 71.8% on July 1, 2025, down from 74.4% in 2020, while the Hispanic or Latino share was 9.9%, up from 8.1% in 2020. The Black share (any ethnicity) is 12.3%, up from 11.9% in 2020, and the Asian share 4.6%, up from 4.0% in 2020²³.

Single group (adds to 100%)Alone or in combination with other races

White, not Hispanic70.6% 80.0%

Black, not Hispanic10.1% 13.5%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)9.9%

Asian, not Hispanic4.4% 5.4%

Two or more races, not Hispanic4.4%

Some other race, not Hispanic0.4%

American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic0.1% 1.6%

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic0.0% 0.2%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B03002; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B02009. The dark bars are mutually exclusive and add to 100%. The light bars count everyone who reported the race, alone or with another race and of any ethnicity, so they overlap and add to more than 100%.

Show the numbers

Group	Share (single group)	MOE	Alone or in combination
White, not Hispanic	70.6%	±0.1	80.0%
Black, not Hispanic	10.1%	±0.1	13.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	9.9%		–
Asian, not Hispanic	4.4%	±0.1	5.4%
Two or more races, not Hispanic	4.4%	±0.1	–
Some other race, not Hispanic	0.4%	±0.1	–
American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic	0.1%		1.6%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic	0.0%		0.2%

Pennsylvania's Hispanic population differs from the national mix. In 2020–2024, residents of Puerto Rican origin made up 3.7% of the population, 1.9 percentage points above the US figure (1.8%), and those of Dominican origin 1.4%. Mexican origin, the largest group nationally, accounted for 1.4%, 7th lowest²⁵ among the states.

More residents aged 85 and older than almost anywhere

The median age, 41.4 years, is 1.9 years above the US figure (39.5 years)³, but the oldest group stands out more. People aged 85 and older were 2.5% of the population on July 1, 2025, tied for 4th highest in the nation and higher than every bordering state (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and West Virginia). Only Hawaii, Florida and Maine²³ had higher shares.

Alaska 1.1%Hawaii 3.0%

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Each dot is a state. Period: July 1, 2025.

Show the numbers

State	85 and older
Hawaii	3.0%
Florida	2.7%
Maine	2.6%
Pennsylvania	2.5%
Iowa	2.5%
Connecticut	2.5%
Vermont	2.4%
Rhode Island	2.4%
New York	2.4%
Massachusetts	2.3%
New Hampshire	2.3%
South Dakota	2.3%
West Virginia	2.2%
Wisconsin	2.2%
Minnesota	2.2%
Arizona	2.2%
North Dakota	2.2%
Oregon	2.2%
Ohio	2.2%
Illinois	2.2%
Montana	2.2%
New Jersey	2.2%
Delaware	2.1%
Michigan	2.1%
Missouri	2.1%
Kansas	2.1%
New Mexico	2.1%
California	2.1%
Nebraska	2.0%
Maryland	2.0%
South Carolina	2.0%
Alabama	2.0%
Arkansas	2.0%
Virginia	1.9%
Indiana	1.9%
Mississippi	1.9%
North Carolina	1.9%
Washington	1.9%
Wyoming	1.9%
Oklahoma	1.9%
Louisiana	1.9%
Idaho	1.8%
Kentucky	1.8%
Tennessee	1.8%
District of Columbia	1.7%
Colorado	1.7%
Nevada	1.6%
Georgia	1.6%
Texas	1.5%
Utah	1.3%
Alaska	1.1%

Between 2020 and 2025 the number of residents aged 65 and older rose to 2,799,790, up from 2,487,891 in 2020, while the number of children under 18 fell to 2,570,631, down from 2,661,411 in 2020. The old-age dependency ratio, which compares residents aged 65 and older with those of working age, is 36.4, 16% above the US figure (31.5) and up from 31.7²³ in 2020. Women outnumber men by 270,918 (±10,932²⁶).

Incomes near the middle, older and cheaper homes

The median household income of $81,473 (±$603) is $3,307 (4%) below the US figure ($84,780), and was up from $79,585 in 2024 (in 2025 dollars)⁴. Prices are close to the national level: the Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Pennsylvania's 2024 price level at 97.6 (US = 100), with housing costs 15% below the US figure (100.6) and utilities 11% above the US figure (98.4)²⁷.

Housing is the clearest difference. 23.5% of homes were built before 1940 (±0.4 percentage points), 12.2 percentage points above the US figure (11.3%), and the median home was built in 1967³². Only 8.0%³⁰ were built in 2010 or later. The median home value, $292,400, is $78,700 (21%) below the US figure ($371,100)²⁸, and 69.2%³³ of households own their home.

The poverty rate, 11.2% (±0.3 percentage points), is 0.6 percentage points below the US figure (11.8%)⁵. An average of 1,964,591 people received SNAP benefits each month in fiscal year 2025, 15.0% of the population and the 9th highest³¹ share in the country. In the survey, 46.6%³⁴ of SNAP households included someone aged 60 or older.

A Catholic plurality, and many Methodist and Lutheran churches

In the 2020 U.S. Religion Census, which counts congregations rather than surveying residents, the Catholic Church was the largest body in Pennsylvania by far: its parishes counted 2,845,841 people, 21.9% of residents and 46.7% of all adherents. That share is down from 27.6% in 2010, though the two studies were not counted in exactly the same way. Christian congregations of every kind counted 44.4%¹³ of the population.

Protestant churches are numerous rather than large. The United Methodist Church had 1,986 congregations, more than any other body, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1,100; Mainline Protestant churches together counted 9.9%, the 8th highest share. Synagogues counted 85,311 members (0.66%, the 8th highest share) and the mosque study estimated 149,561¹³ people taking part in mosques. These are counts of people tied to congregations, not of belief, as the religion overview explains.

Immigrants: more from Asia than from Latin America

Pennsylvania had 1,099,599 foreign-born residents in 2025, 8.4% of the population, 6.3 percentage points below the US figure (14.7%). Their origins differ from the national pattern: 39.6% were born in Asia, 7.7 percentage points above the US figure (31.9%), and 34.8% in Latin America, 15.5 percentage points below the US figure (50.3%). 57.6%¹⁹ of them are US citizens by naturalization.

Among Asian groups, Asian Indian residents are the largest (183,000³⁵ in 2025), followed by Chinese and Vietnamese residents. On 2020–2024 counts Pennsylvania has the largest Bhutanese population of any state (5,929), ahead of Ohio (5,427); allowing for the margins of error it ranks between 1st and 2nd³⁶. At home, 13.3% of residents aged 5 and older speak a language other than English, 9.6 percentage points below the US figure (22.9%); Spanish is the most common, at 5.9%³⁷.

Schooling, health, work and veterans

37.1% of adults aged 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, not statistically different from the US figure (37.4%), and the share was up from 36.4% in 2024. The high school completion rate, 92.4%, is 1.8 percentage points above the US figure (90.6%)³⁸.

Life expectancy at birth was 77.3 years in 2022, 0.2 years below the US figure (77.5 years)³⁹. The uninsured rate of 6.2% is 2.2 percentage points below the US figure (8.4%)⁴⁰, and 37.5% of residents have public coverage such as Medicare or Medicaid, 2.1 percentage points above the US figure (35.4%)⁴¹.

The unemployment rate averaged 4.3% in 2025, the same as the US figure (4.3%)⁴². 4.3% of workers commute by public transit, the 8th highest⁴³ share. The state has 588,783 veterans, the 7th highest⁴⁴ number of any state, and 34.6% of them served in the Vietnam era, 3.7 percentage points above the US figure (30.9%)⁴⁵.