Potter County, Pennsylvania

Potter County population, land area and income

Potter County had 15,993 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,081.3 square miles of land. It ranks 63rd of 67 in Pennsylvania by population and 6th by land area. That works out to 14.8 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Pennsylvania has 82,953 residents, so Potter County has 19% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $57,850 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Potter County's population changed since 2020

Potter County lost 394 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 2.4%. That ranks 57th of 67 in Pennsylvania for growth. The median Pennsylvania county changed by -0.5%, and the state as a whole by +0.6%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Potter County recorded 646 births and 1,030 deaths, a natural change of -384. Net international migration added +9 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -28. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 384 people.

Where Potter County is

The Census internal point of Potter County is at 41.748600, -77.894400. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades Pennsylvania's 67 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Potter County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Potter County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Potter County, 3,378 people together, or 21% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Potter County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Coudersport with 2,310.

Counties bordering Potter County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Potter County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Lycoming County, PA, with 113,236 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Lycoming County

  113,236 people

  52 mi ESE

• NY

  Steuben County, NY

  92,015 people

  44 mi NE

• NY

  Allegany County, NY

  47,299 people

  35 mi N

• Tioga County

  40,698 people

  33 mi E

• McKean County

  39,478 people

  35 mi W

• Clinton County

  37,865 people

  38 mi SSE

• Cameron County

  4,348 people

  27 mi SW

Distance to Harrisburg and the nearest big city

Harrisburg is 115.3 miles SSE of Potter County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Buffalo, NY (population 276,617), 93.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Olean, NY (population 13,614), 36.2 miles away.

Potter County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Potter County is 42105: state code 42 for Pennsylvania plus county code 105. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $57,850.