Somerset County, Pennsylvania

Somerset County population, land area and income

Somerset County had 72,134 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,075.1 square miles of land. It ranks 37th of 67 in Pennsylvania by population and 7th by land area. That works out to 67.1 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Pennsylvania has 82,953 residents; Somerset County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $59,562 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Somerset County's population changed since 2020

Somerset County lost 1,880 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 2.5%. That ranks 59th 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, Somerset County recorded 2,528 births and 4,663 deaths, a natural change of -2,135. Net international migration added +50 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +123. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 2,135 people.

Where Somerset County is

The Census internal point of Somerset County is at 39.981300, -79.028500. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades Pennsylvania's 67 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Somerset County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Somerset County

5 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Somerset County, 14,828 people together, or 21% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Somerset County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Somerset with 5,870.

Counties bordering Somerset County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Somerset County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Westmoreland County, PA, with 350,935 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Westmoreland County

  350,935 people

  32 mi NW

• Cambria County

  130,108 people

  40 mi NNE

• Fayette County

  123,941 people

  33 mi W

• MD

  Allegany County, MD

  67,097 people

  31 mi SE

• Bedford County

  47,643 people

  28 mi E

• MD

  Garrett County, MD

  28,393 people

  33 mi SSW

Distance to Harrisburg and the nearest big city

Harrisburg is 115.0 miles E of Somerset County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Pittsburgh, PA (population 307,668), 59.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Johnstown, PA (population 17,853), 24.5 miles away.

Somerset County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Somerset County is 42111: state code 42 for Pennsylvania plus county code 111. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $59,562.