Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 95 miles northeast of
Pittsburgh. It had a population of 80,562 at the 2020 census, an estimated 78,635 by 2024, and
covers 1,145 square miles (2,970 km2) centred near 41°00′N 78°28′W.

Clearfield is the county seat; its postal code is 16830. DuBois is the county’s largest city.
The county holds 1 city, 21 boroughs and 12 census-designated places across 30 townships, and it
runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 42033.

Towns & Villages in Clearfield County

Clearfield County has 34 named places on record under Pennsylvania and Census Bureau
classification: 1 city, 21 boroughs and 12 census-designated places. CDP stands for census
designated place, an unincorporated community the Census Bureau tracks for statistics but that
has no borough government of its own.

Falls Creek, historically split between Clearfield and Jefferson counties, is not listed above:
its Clearfield-County portion was annexed into Jefferson County in 2025, so the borough now sits
entirely outside Clearfield. Treasure Lake and Sandy share the DuBois ZIP, 15801, because both
sit immediately outside the city rather than having their own post office.

Townships

The Census Bureau has not published 2020 township-level population totals we could verify for
this page, so the Pop. column is omitted above rather than guessed; the county-level 2020 figure
of 80,562 covers all 30 townships and 22 incorporated municipalities combined.

ZIP Codes

• 15801 — DuBois (also covers Treasure Lake and Sandy CDPs)
• 16830 — Clearfield
• 16833 — Curwensville
• 16666 — Osceola Mills
• 16866 — Chester Hill
• 16651 — Houtzdale
• 16656 — Irvona
• 16671 — Ramey
• 16627 — Coalport
• 16838 — Grampian
• 16692 — Westover
• 15757 — Mahaffey
• 16876 — Wallaceton
• 15721 — Burnside
• 16839 — Grassflat
• 16840 — Hawk Run
• 16847 — Kylertown
• 16825 — Bigler
• 16821 — Allport
• 16878 — West Decatur

Brisbin, Troutville, Glen Hope, Newburg, New Washington, Plymptonville, Oklahoma, Helvetia,
Lumber City and Sylvan Grove have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under a
neighbouring town’s code.

Geography

Clearfield County sits in the Allegheny Plateau of west-central Pennsylvania, a rugged,
forested upland cut by narrow river valleys. Of its 1,154 square miles, 1,145 are land and 9.2
are water, about 0.8 percent. The West Branch Susquehanna River bisects the county and flows
through Clearfield borough itself; Clearfield Creek, its major tributary, drains the county’s
southern townships. Bilger’s Rocks, an exposed sandstone outcrop in Bloom Township, is a locally
known geological landmark from the same Appalachian uplift that shaped the surrounding
mountains.

Elk County and Cameron County lie to the north, Clinton County to the northeast, Centre County
to the east, Blair County to the southeast, Cambria County to the south, Indiana County to the
southwest, and Jefferson County to the west. Elk County,
Clinton County,
Centre County,
Blair County,
Cambria County,
Indiana County and
Jefferson County all
border Clearfield directly. Cameron County has no live profile on this site yet.

Demographics

Clearfield County had a population of 80,562 at the 2020 census, and Data USA’s latest
estimate puts the county near 78,635 residents, a small decline typical of rural Pennsylvania
counties. DuBois and Clearfield are by far the two largest communities, together with the
surrounding Treasure Lake and Sandy CDPs holding roughly a quarter of the county’s population.
Median household income runs about $62,152, well under Pennsylvania’s statewide figure of
$73,824 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 70 people per square mile of land,
low even by rural Pennsylvania standards, reflecting the county’s mountainous, heavily forested
terrain.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 6,276 people,
followed by retail trade at 4,282 and manufacturing at 4,155. Penn Highlands DuBois, a regional
hospital in DuBois, is the county’s largest single employer. Pennsylvania State University’s
DuBois campus adds a higher-education presence to the same city. Coal mining, once the county’s
dominant industry through the early 1900s, continues on a smaller scale; the Hepburnia Coal
Company, founded in 1955, still mines and ships coal from the county. The Clearfield County
Fair, held each August in the town of Clearfield, is the county’s biggest annual event.

History

Pennsylvania’s General Assembly formed Clearfield County by an act signed on March 26, 1804,
carving it from Huntingdon and Lycoming counties, but the county was not fully organized until
1822. The name comes from the cleared fields along Clearfield Creek and the West Branch
Susquehanna, land opened by bison herds and earlier Native American farming before European
settlement. The first county seat site was a village called Chincleclamousche, named for a
Seneca chief; the commissioners renamed it Clearfield when they built the county government
there in 1805.

Lumber and coal drove the county’s economy from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s, with logs
floated down the West Branch Susquehanna until 1917. Labor conflict marked the coalfields too:
in 1875, fifty-six miners around Houtzdale were tried for conspiracy after an organized strike,
in a case followed by labor organizations nationwide. Four defendants were sentenced to a year in
prison and eight to six months.

Getting There

Interstate 80 crosses the county east–west with exits at DuBois, Clearfield and several
smaller communities. US 119, US 219 and US 322 also run through the county, along with PA 36,
53, 153, 253, 255, 286, 410, 453, 729, 830, 865, 879, 969 and 970.

• State College — about 45 miles southeast
• Altoona — about 50 miles south
• Johnstown — about 65 miles south
• Pittsburgh — about 95 miles southwest

DuBois Regional Airport, about eight miles northwest of DuBois in neighboring Jefferson
County, offers subsidized commercial service to Pittsburgh and Washington Dulles through the
Essential Air Service program. There is no Amtrak station in the county; the nearest stop is the
Pennsylvanian line’s request stop at Tyrone, roughly 40 miles south in Blair County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Clearfield County located?
It sits in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Plateau region, about 95 miles northeast of Pittsburgh,
bordered by Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Centre, Blair, Cambria, Indiana and Jefferson counties.

What is the population of Clearfield County?
80,562 at the 2020 census, with a recent estimate near 78,635.

How big is Clearfield County?
1,154 square miles (2,990 km2), of which 1,145 square miles are land — the third-largest
land area of any Pennsylvania county.

What is the county seat of Clearfield County?
Clearfield is the county seat; DuBois is the county’s largest city.

How many towns and villages are in Clearfield County?
The county has 1 city, 21 boroughs and 12 census-designated places, spread across 30 townships.

What ZIP codes cover Clearfield County?
Principal codes include 16830 (Clearfield), 15801 (DuBois), 16833 (Curwensville) and 16666
(Osceola Mills), with smaller boroughs and CDPs carrying their own codes listed above.

What was Clearfield County’s biggest industry historically?
Lumber and coal, from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s; coal mining still operates in the
county today on a reduced scale.

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