Warren County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, on the New York state line in the north-central part of the state. It had a population of 38,587 at the 2020 census and covers 899 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 884 square miles (2,290 km2) is land, centred near 41°49′N 79°16′W.
Warren is the county seat and its postal code is 16365. The county has one city (Warren), five boroughs, and 21 townships, plus a scatter of census-designated places and unincorporated communities. Warren County sits in the Eastern time zone.
Towns & Villages in Warren County
Warren County has one city, five boroughs, and dozens of smaller communities spread across its 21 townships — most of the county lies inside the Allegheny National Forest. CDP = census-designated place (unincorporated but tracked separately by the Census Bureau); Unincorp. = an unincorporated hamlet or crossroads with no separate government.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren | City · seat | — | 9,331 | 16365 |
| Youngsville | Village | Brokenstraw | 1,438 | 16371 |
| Tidioute | Village | Triumph | — | 16351 |
| Sugar Grove | Village | Sugar Grove | — | 16350 |
| Clarendon | Village | Conewango | — | 16313 |
| Bear Lake | Village | Freehold | — | — |
| Columbus | CDP | Columbus | — | 16405 |
| North Warren | CDP | Conewango | — | 16365 |
| Russell | CDP | Conewango | — | 16345 |
| Sheffield | CDP | Sheffield | — | 16347 |
| Starbrick | CDP | Conewango | — | 16365 |
| Irvine | Unincorp. | Brokenstraw | — | 16329 |
| Pittsfield | Unincorp. | Pittsfield | — | 16340 |
| Chandlers Valley | Unincorp. | Sugar Grove | — | 16350 |
| Grand Valley | Unincorp. | Pine Grove | — | — |
| Garland | Unincorp. | Freehold | — | — |
| Lander | Unincorp. | Cherry Grove | — | — |
| Tiona | Unincorp. | Cherry Grove | — | — |
| Torpedo | Unincorp. | Cherry Grove | — | — |
| Akeley | Unincorp. | Glade | — | — |
| Backup Corners | Unincorp. | Deerfield | — | — |
| Sheffield (village) | Unincorp. | Sheffield | — | 16347 |
| Spring Creek | Unincorp. | Spring Creek | — | 16436 |
Sheffield appears twice on old lists — once as the CDP that covers the built-up crossroads and once as an older village reference to the same place; the CDP figure is the one the Census Bureau tracks. Warren city and North Warren CDP sit directly across the Conewango River from each other and are often confused in casual references, but they are separate places with separate ZIP routing.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Conewango | — | North Warren, Starbrick, Russell, Clarendon |
| Brokenstraw | — | Youngsville, Irvine |
| Sheffield | — | Sheffield |
| Mead | — | rural, no major settlement |
| Pittsfield | — | Pittsfield |
| Sugar Grove | — | Sugar Grove, Chandlers Valley |
| Triumph | — | Tidioute |
| Cherry Grove | — | Lander, Tiona, Torpedo |
| Pine Grove | — | Grand Valley |
| Columbus | — | Columbus |
| Freehold | — | Bear Lake, Garland |
| Glade | — | Akeley |
| Deerfield | — | Backup Corners |
| Spring Creek | — | Spring Creek |
| Elk, Eldred, Farmington, Limestone, Pleasant, Southwest, Watson | — | rural, largely within the Allegheny National Forest |
Reliable per-township 2020 census counts were not available from the sources checked for this rewrite, so this table is left as a settlements guide rather than a ranked population table.
ZIP Codes
- 16365 — Warren (also serves North Warren and Starbrick)
- 16371 — Youngsville
- 16351 — Tidioute
- 16350 — Sugar Grove (also serves Chandlers Valley)
- 16313 — Clarendon
- 16405 — Columbus
- 16345 — Russell
- 16347 — Sheffield
- 16329 — Irvine
- 16340 — Pittsfield
- 16436 — Spring Creek
Smaller unincorporated places such as Akeley, Bear Lake, Backup Corners, Garland, Grand Valley, Lander, Tiona, and Torpedo share the ZIP code of their nearest post office town rather than carrying one of their own.
Geography
Warren County lies in the Allegheny Plateau, a heavily forested, hilly landscape cut by the Allegheny River and its tributaries. Roughly a third of the county sits inside the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania’s only national forest. The Allegheny Reservoir, formed by the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River, backs up into New York and is the county’s largest body of water; it is a major draw for boating and fishing.
Warren County borders McKean County to the east, Elk County to the southeast, Forest County to the south, Venango County to the southwest, and Crawford County to the west. Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in New York lie directly to the north.
Demographics
Warren County had 38,587 residents at the 2020 census, giving a population density of about 44 people per square mile — among the least densely settled counties in Pennsylvania outside its mountainous north-central neighbors. Warren city, with 9,331 residents, is the county’s largest community by a wide margin; Youngsville, with 1,438, is the second largest. Median household income in the county runs below the Pennsylvania median of $73,824, reflecting the area’s reliance on manufacturing and forestry rather than the higher-wage sectors clustered around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Economy & Local Life
Warren’s economy has long centered on the energy and manufacturing sectors: the county was an early hub of the Pennsylvania oil boom in the 19th century, and Warren city remains headquarters to National Fuel Gas, a natural gas utility with roots going back to those early oil-field pipelines. Healthcare (UPMC Northwest, headquartered in Warren) and forest-products manufacturing are major employers today, alongside tourism tied to the Allegheny National Forest and Allegheny Reservoir. The county hosts an annual county fair in Pittsfield Township and draws seasonal visitors for fall foliage, fishing, and hunting in the national forest.
History
Warren County was established in 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming counties but was administered jointly with Crawford County until 1805 and then with Venango County until it was formally organized as its own county government in 1819. It is named for Joseph Warren, the physician and Massachusetts patriot killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. The county’s development accelerated after the 1859 start of the Pennsylvania oil boom just south in Venango County, which brought refining and pipeline businesses into Warren. The Kinzua Dam, completed in 1965, flooded part of the Seneca Nation’s Cornplanter Tract to create the Allegheny Reservoir — a project that displaced Seneca families and remains a contested chapter in the county’s history.
Getting There
US Route 6 runs east–west through the county along the Allegheny River, and US Route 62 follows the river south toward Venango County. Pennsylvania Routes 27, 59, 69, and 127 connect the smaller boroughs and townships.
- Erie, Pennsylvania — about 65 miles northwest
- Bradford, Pennsylvania — about 30 miles east
- Jamestown, New York — about 30 miles north
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — about 110 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Erie International Airport; Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport in New York is closer but has limited scheduled service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Warren County, Pennsylvania?
It is in the north-central part of the state, on the New York border, centred near 41°49′N 79°16′W.
What is the population of Warren County?
It had a population of 38,587 at the 2020 census.
How big is Warren County?
The county covers 899 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 884 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Warren County?
Warren is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Warren County?
The county has one city, five boroughs, five census-designated places, and about a dozen smaller unincorporated communities across its 21 townships.
What ZIP codes are in Warren County?
Warren is 16365; other post office towns include Youngsville (16371), Tidioute (16351), Sugar Grove (16350), Clarendon (16313), Columbus (16405), Russell (16345), and Sheffield (16347).
What is Warren County known for?
The Allegheny National Forest, the Allegheny Reservoir, and the Kinzua Dam, which together make the county a major destination for boating, fishing, and fall-foliage tourism in northwestern Pennsylvania.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Pennsylvania.