Mifflin County, Pennsylvania

Mifflin County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 61 miles northwest of
Harrisburg. It had a population of 46,143 at the 2020 census, an estimated 46,127 by 2024, and
covers 415 square miles (1,070 km2) centred near 40°37′N 77°37′W.

Lewistown is the county seat and the county’s largest borough; its postal code is 17044. The
county holds 6 boroughs, 19 census-designated places and 10 other unincorporated communities
across 10 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 42087.

Towns & Villages in Mifflin County

Mifflin County has 35 named places on record: 6 incorporated boroughs, 19 census-designated
places (CDPs) and 10 unincorporated communities with no population count of their own. CDP
stands for census designated place, a populated area the Census Bureau tracks with no local
government; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities the Census Bureau does not
separately count.

Two names on this list are easy to mix up. Menno the unincorporated community is a small
crossroads inside Menno Township — the community and the township share a name but are not
the same place. Church Hill straddles the line between Armagh and Brown townships, so its
population and ZIP code cover both sides of that boundary. The Census Bureau lists twelve more
CDPs here — Alfarata, Atkinson Mills, Barrville, Cedar Crest, Granville, Highland Park,
Longfellow, Lumber City, Maitland, Potlicker Flats, Siglerville and Strodes Mills — without
a 2020 population count published separately; most are crossroads hamlets of a few dozen to a
few hundred residents in the county’s outlying valleys.

ZIP Codes

• 17044 — Lewistown (also serves Kistler and Juniata Terrace, neither of which has a ZIP
  code of its own)
• 17009 — Burnham
• 17051 — McVeytown
• 17075 — Newton Hamilton
• 17063 — Milroy
• 17004 — Belleville
• 17084 — Reedsville and Church Hill
• 17099 — Yeagertown

The smaller CDPs and unincorporated communities — Allensville, Mattawana and the dozen
outlying hamlets listed above — have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered
under whichever borough or larger CDP is closest.

Geography

Mifflin County sits in central Pennsylvania’s Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, a series of long
parallel ridges separated by narrow farming valleys. Of its 415 square miles, 411 are land and
3.7 are water, about 0.9 percent. The Juniata River runs the length of the county along its
northern edge, past Lewistown, Burnham and Newton Hamilton, and Jacks Mountain and Stone
Mountain enclose the Kishacoquillas Valley — known locally as Big Valley — the
farming valley that holds Belleville, Allensville, Milroy and the county’s Amish and Mennonite
settlements.

Centre County lies to the north, Union County to the northeast, Snyder County to the east,
Juniata County to the south, and Huntingdon County to the west. Centre County, Union County, Snyder County, Juniata County and Huntingdon County all border Mifflin
directly.

Demographics

Mifflin County had a population of 46,143 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county at roughly 46,127 residents, essentially flat over the past several years. Lewistown and
Burnham are the county’s two largest incorporated places; Belleville, the Amish and Mennonite
community in Union Township, is the largest unincorporated CDP at 1,947. Median household
income runs about $63,953 per Data USA, well below Pennsylvania’s statewide figure of $73,824
(2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 112 people per square mile of land, low for
central Pennsylvania and reflecting the county’s mountain-and-valley terrain.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 4,492 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 3,730 and retail trade at 2,371. Geisinger operates Lewistown’s
hospital campus, the county’s largest health care employer since it took over the facility in
2013. First Quality runs a manufacturing plant employing roughly 400 people, and Standard Steel
and Asher’s Chocolates both maintain long-running operations in the county. Every Wednesday,
Belleville hosts a weekly livestock, produce and flea-market auction that draws buyers from
across central Pennsylvania and is one of the county’s best-known fixtures. The county’s biggest
annual event is the Mifflin County Youth Fair each August at Youth Park in Reedsville, a
Penn State Extension 4-H fair with livestock shows, a rodeo, tractor pulls and amusement
rides.

History

Pennsylvania’s legislature formed Mifflin County on 19 September 1789, carving it out of
Cumberland and Northumberland counties. It was named for Thomas Mifflin, Pennsylvania’s first
governor after statehood. Lewistown, laid out along the Juniata River, became the county
seat.

Amish and Mennonite families settled the Kishacoquillas Valley starting in 1791, and their
descendants still farm Big Valley today; roughly 3,900 Amish residents across 30 congregations
lived in the county as of 2017. Hurricane Agnes flooded Lewistown in June 1972, one of the
costliest disasters in the borough’s history, and the flood forced the permanent closure of the
American Viscose Corporation rayon plant, then one of the county’s largest employers, ending a
chapter of the town’s industrial era.

Getting There

US 22 and US 322 run together through Lewistown as the county’s main east-west corridor, and
US 522 crosses the county north-south through Milroy and Reedsville. A rebuilt US 322 corridor
between Lewistown and State College, completed in 2020, replaced a slower two-lane route through
the mountains.

• State College — about 30 miles northwest
• Harrisburg — about 61 miles southeast
• Altoona — about 40 miles west
• Huntingdon — about 25 miles west

University Park Airport in State College, roughly 30 miles northwest of Lewistown, is the
nearest commercial airport. Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian, running between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
via Harrisburg, stops at the Lewistown station.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Mifflin County located?
It sits in central Pennsylvania’s Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, about 61 miles northwest of
Harrisburg, bordered by Centre, Union, Snyder, Juniata and Huntingdon counties.

What is the population of Mifflin County?
46,143 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 46,127.

How big is Mifflin County?
415 square miles (1,070 km2), of which 411 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Mifflin County?
Lewistown, the county’s largest borough, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Mifflin County?
Six boroughs — Lewistown, Burnham, Juniata Terrace, Kistler, McVeytown and Newton Hamilton
— plus 19 census-designated places and 10 smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Mifflin County use?
17044 for Lewistown, 17009 for Burnham, 17051 for McVeytown, 17075 for Newton Hamilton, 17063
for Milroy, 17004 for Belleville and 17084 for Reedsville and Church Hill.

What is Mifflin County known for?
The Kishacoquillas Valley’s Amish and Mennonite farming community, known locally as Big Valley,
and Belleville’s weekly Wednesday livestock and produce auction.

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