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Mercer County
	Mercer County, Pennsylvania
	Map
	; Location in the state of Pennsylvania
	; Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	March 12, 1800
Seat	Mercer
Largest city	Sharon
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 683 sq mi (1,769 km²); 672 sq mi (1,740 km²); 11 sq mi (28 km²), 1.58%
Population; - (2000); - Density	; 120,293; 179/sq mi (69/km²)
	Website: www.mcc.co.mercer.pa.us

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 120,293. Its county seat is Mercer^[1]; Sharon is its largest city.

Mercer County was part of the Sharon MSA as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau until the 2000 census, when it was appended to the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA MSA.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 683 square miles (1,768 km²), of which, 672 square miles (1,740 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) of it (1.58%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 120,293 people, 46,712 households, and 32,371 families residing in the county. The population density was 179 people per square mile (69/km²). There were 49,859 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.13% White, 5.25% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.5% were of German, 12.0% Italian, 10.5% Irish, 9.3% English and 6.8% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 46,712 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

[edit] Government and politics

As of November 2008, there are 80,917 registered voters in Mercer County [1].

Democratic: 39,956 (49.38%)
Republican: 32,103 (39.67%)
Other Parties: 8,858 (10.95%)

[edit] Political bellwether

Mercer County was previously considered a political bellwether for the state of Pennsylvania since its demographics, urban/rural ratio, and party affiliation once closely mirrored the state as a whole. In 2000 Al Gore carried it against George W. Bush. This trend failed to hold true during the most recent 2004 Presidential election and 2008 Presidential election, in which Mercer County voted more conservatively than the rest of the state. In 2004 George W. Bush won Mercer County with 51% of the vote. That year John Kerry won the state as a whole with 51% of the popular vote. In 2008 John McCain won Mercer County by less than 200 votes with John McCain and Barack Obama each receiving roughly 49% of the popular vote. Barack Obama won the state of Pennsylvania as a whole with 55% of the popular vote. Each of the three state row office winners also carried Mercer in 2008.

[edit] County commissioners

Brian Beader, Chairman, Democrat
Kenneth Ammann, Vice-chairman, Democrat
John Lechner, Republican

[edit] Other county offices

District Attorney, Robert G. Kochems, Democrat
Prothonotary, Elizabeth F. Fair, Democrat
Recorder of Deeds, Rhonda McClelland, Democrat
Sheriff, William H. Romine, Jr., Democrat
Treasurer, Virginia Richardson, Republican

[edit] State Representative

Mark Longietti, Democrat, 7th district
Dick Stevenson, Republican, 8th district
Michele Brooks, Republican, 17th district

[edit] State Senator

Robert D. Robbins, Republican, 50th district

[edit] US Representatives

Kathy Dahlkemper, Democrat, 3rd district
Jason Altmire, Democrat, 4th district

[edit] Municipalities

Map of Mercer County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red) and Townships (white).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Mercer County: