Armstrong County, Pennsylvania

Armstrong County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River. It had a population of 65,558 at the 2020 census and covers 653 square miles (1,690 km2) of land, centred near 40°49′N 79°28′W.

Kittanning is the county seat; its postal code is 16201. The county holds 1 city, 16 boroughs and 7 census-designated places spread across 28 townships, all in the Eastern time zone.

Towns & Villages in Armstrong County

Armstrong County’s population is split between one home-rule city, sixteen incorporated boroughs and seven unincorporated CDPs, with dozens more crossroads hamlets scattered through the county’s 28 townships. Population figures below are from the 2010 census, the most recent count published for these individual places; several small settlements have never been separately counted and show as —.

Ford City and West Kittanning sit directly across the Allegheny River from Kittanning and are often mistaken for parts of the county seat, but each is a separate incorporated borough with its own council. Two Apollos — Apollo and North Apollo — face each other from opposite riverbanks near the Westmoreland County line.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 16201 — Kittanning (also serves East Kittanning, West Kittanning)
• 16226 — Ford City (also serves Ford Cliff)
• 15656 — Leechburg
• 16229 — Freeport
• 15613 — Apollo (also serves North Apollo)
• 16249 — Rural Valley (also serves Templeton, Sagamore)
• 16049 — Parker
• 16262 — Worthington
• 16222 — Dayton
• 15736 — Elderton
• 16238 — Manorville
• 16263 — Yatesboro
• 16215 — Cadogan
• 16217 — Craigsville
• 16244 — NuMine (also serves Mosgrove)

Applewold, Atwood, Kiskimere, North Vandergrift, Pleasant View, South Bethlehem and several other small unincorporated places share a Kittanning-area or neighboring-borough ZIP rather than having their own.

Geography

Armstrong County lies in the Allegheny Plateau, cut through its centre by the Allegheny River, which the county follows for roughly 55 miles from the Kiskiminetas confluence in the south to Cowanshannock Creek’s mouth in the north. Terrain is hilly and heavily wooded outside the river valleys, with the historic coal- and clay-mining belt concentrated along the river towns.

Armstrong County borders Clarion County to the north, Jefferson County to the northeast, Indiana County to the east, Westmoreland County to the south, Allegheny County to the southwest, and Butler County to the west.

Demographics

Armstrong County’s 2020 census population was 65,558, down from prior decades as the county’s coal and steel-supply industries contracted. Kittanning (4,044 at 2010) and Ford City (2,991 at 2010) are the largest communities. Median household income runs well below the Pennsylvania median of $73,824 — the county has one of the lower income levels among counties in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Population density is roughly 100 people per square mile, concentrated along the Allegheny River corridor.

Economy & Local Life

Armstrong County’s economy grew up on Allegheny River coal, clay tile and steel-related manufacturing; several boroughs, including Ford City, were built as company towns around glass and steel plants. Today the county mixes small manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture with commuting into the Pittsburgh metro. Armstrong County Memorial Hospital in Kittanning is a major local employer. Kittanning holds an annual Kittanning Community Days celebration each summer.

History

Armstrong County was organized on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Lycoming counties, and named for John Armstrong, a Continental Army major general and Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress. The county seat’s name recalls the 1756 raid on Kittanning, a Pennsylvania provincial militia expedition against a Lenape settlement during the French and Indian War — one of the few offensive operations Pennsylvania’s colonial troops carried out in that war. The county’s river towns industrialized through the 19th and early 20th centuries around coal, clay and glassmaking before those industries declined after World War II.

Getting There

US Route 422 crosses the county east-west through Kittanning; Pennsylvania Routes 28, 66 and 356 provide the main north-south links along the Allegheny River corridor.

• Pittsburgh — 40 miles southwest
• Indiana, PA — 25 miles east
• Butler — 25 miles west
• New Kensington — 20 miles south

Pittsburgh International Airport, about an hour’s drive southwest, is the nearest commercial airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Armstrong County?
It is in western Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny River about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

What is the population of Armstrong County?
65,558 at the 2020 census.

How big is Armstrong County?
653 square miles (1,690 km2) of land plus 11 square miles (28 km2) of water.

What is the Armstrong County seat?
Kittanning is the county seat.

How many towns are in Armstrong County?
One city (Parker), sixteen boroughs, seven CDPs and dozens of smaller unincorporated places across 28 townships.

What ZIP codes are in Armstrong County?
Kittanning’s is 16201; other main towns include Ford City 16226, Leechburg 15656, Freeport 16229 and Apollo 15613.

Why is Kittanning named that?
The borough takes its name from a Lenape settlement at the site, the target of the 1756 raid on Kittanning during the French and Indian War.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Pennsylvania.