York County (Pennsylvania Dutch: Yarrick Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York. The county was created on August 19, 1749, from part of Lancaster County and named either after the Duke of York, an early patron of the Penn family, or for the city and county of York in England.
York County comprises the York-Hanover, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, Pennsylvania Combined Statistical Area. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania.
Based on the Articles of Confederation having been adopted in York by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, the local government and business community began referring to York in the 1960s as the first capital of the United States of America. The designation has been debated by historians ever since. Congress considered York and the borough of Wrightsville on the eastern side of York County along the Susquehanna River as the nation’s permanent capital before Washington, D.C. was selected.
| Name: | York County |
|---|---|
| FIPS code: | 42-133 |
| State: | Pennsylvania |
| Founded: | August 19, 1749 |
| Named for: | Duke of York |
| Seat: | York |
| Largest city: | York |
| Total Area: | 911 sq mi (2,360 km²) |
| Land Area: | 904 sq mi (2,340 km²) |
| Total Population: | 456,438 |
| Population Density: | 481.1/sq mi (185.8/km²) |
| Time zone: | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| Summer Time Zone (DST): | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Website: | yorkcountypa.gov |
York County location map. Where is York County?
York County Road Map
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 911 square miles (2,360 km), of which 904 square miles (2,340 km) is land and 6.5 square miles (17 km) (0.7%) is water. The county is bound to its eastern border by the Susquehanna River. Its southern border is the Mason–Dixon line, which separates Pennsylvania and Maryland. Within the U.S. piedmont region, York County is generally hilly and rises to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest, where it is bordered by Yellow Breeches Creek. Interior waterways include Codorus and Conewago Creeks, and Lakes Lehman, Kiwanis, Marburg, Pahagaco, Pinchot, Redman, and Williams.
Adjacent counties
- Cumberland County (north)
- Dauphin County (northeast)
- Lancaster County (east)
- Harford County, Maryland (southeast)
- Baltimore County, Maryland (south)
- Carroll County, Maryland (southwest)
- Adams County (west)
Major roads and highways
- I-76 / Penna Turnpike
- I-83
- I-83 BL
- US 15
- US 30
- PA 24
- PA 74
- PA 94
- PA 114
- PA 116
- PA 124
- PA 177
- PA 181
- PA 182
- PA 194
- PA 214
- PA 216
- PA 234
- PA 238
- PA 262
- PA 297
- PA 372
- PA 382
- PA 392
- PA 425
- PA 462
- PA 516
- PA 616
- PA 624
- PA 851
- PA 921
Climate
Most of York County has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and the hardiness zones are 6b and 7a. The latest temperature averages show some low-lying eastern areas of the county to have a humid subtropical climate (Cfa.)
York County Topographic Map
York County Satellite Map
York County Outline Map
