Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Westmoreland County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 30 miles southeast of
Pittsburgh. It had a population of 354,663 at the 2020 census, an estimated 349,324 by 2024, and
covers 1,036 square miles (2,680 km2) centred near 40°19′N 79°28′W.

Greensburg is the county seat; its postal code is 15601. The county holds 7 cities, the
home-rule municipality of Murrysville and 37 boroughs, plus 20 unincorporated communities across
21 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 42129.

Towns & Villages in Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County has 65 incorporated and unincorporated places on record: 7 cities, 1
home-rule municipality, 37 boroughs and 20 census-designated places (CDPs) with no local
government of their own. The table below lists every incorporated city, municipality and
borough; the census-designated places follow in a second table.

Westmoreland County has four boroughs that share a name with a separately governed township:
Derry Borough sits inside Derry Township, Donegal Borough inside Donegal Township, Mount Pleasant
Borough inside Mount Pleasant Township, and Penn Borough inside Penn Township. Each pair is two
distinct governments with its own council and budget, not one place counted twice.

The 20 census-designated places have no local government; the Census Bureau tracks them only
for statistical purposes. Populations below are the most recent verified figures where available.

Saint Vincent College, the CDP, is built around the Benedictine college of the same name in
Unity Township. Norvelt, in Mount Pleasant Township, began in 1934 as a New Deal resettlement
community for unemployed coal miners, one of the federal government’s Subsistence Homestead
projects and among the best-preserved examples still standing.

Townships

Townships cover most of the county’s land area outside its cities and boroughs. Hempfield
Township, which surrounds Greensburg on three sides, is the single most populous municipality in
the county — more people live there than in any city or borough.

Unity Township holds Saint Vincent College and most of Latrobe’s surrounding development;
Ligonier Township holds Idlewild and Soak Zone, the amusement park, and the borough of Ligonier
sits entirely inside it.

ZIP Codes

• 15601 — Greensburg (also 15605 and 15606, Greensburg PO box ZIPs)
• 15068 — New Kensington and Lower Burrell (also 15069, a New Kensington PO box ZIP)
• 15644 — Jeannette
• 15650 — Latrobe
• 15062 — Monessen
• 15690 — Vandergrift
• 15666 — Mount Pleasant
• 15642 — Irwin
• 15658 — Ligonier
• 15668 — Murrysville (also 15632, a second Murrysville ZIP)

Arnold shares its postal service with the New Kensington – Lower Burrell area rather than
carrying a distinct ZIP of its own, and most of the county’s smaller boroughs and CDPs are
served by the nearest larger post office rather than a ZIP unique to the community.

Geography

Westmoreland County sits on the Allegheny Plateau in the Laurel Highlands, southwestern
Pennsylvania’s belt of forested ridges. Of its 1,036 square miles, 1,028 are land and 8.5
are water, about 0.8 percent. The Loyalhanna Creek and the Kiskiminetas River drain the county’s
northern and central sections; the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers form stretches of its
southern and southwestern edges.

Armstrong County lies to the north, Indiana County to the northeast, Cambria County to the east,
Somerset County to the southeast, Fayette County to the south, Washington County to the
southwest, Allegheny County to the west, and Butler County to the northwest.
Armstrong County,
Indiana County,
Cambria County,
Somerset County,
Fayette County,
Washington County,
Allegheny County and
Butler County all border
Westmoreland directly.

Demographics

Westmoreland County had a population of 354,663 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate
puts the county near 349,324 residents, a slow decline typical of the region. Hempfield Township
(43,135) and North Huntingdon Township (30,749) are the two most populous municipalities in the
county, well ahead of Greensburg, the largest incorporated city, at 14,976. Median household
income runs $74,109, below Pennsylvania’s statewide figure of $73,824. Population density
works out to roughly 345 people per square mile of land.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 28,179 people,
followed by manufacturing at 24,421 and retail trade at 20,695. Excela Health, headquartered in
Greensburg, is the county’s largest health care employer and runs the region’s main
hospital network. Seton Hill University and the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg anchor the
county seat’s education sector, alongside Saint Vincent College in Unity Township and
Westmoreland County Community College. Idlewild and Soak Zone, in Ligonier Township, opened in
1878 and is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and the third-oldest still operating in the
United States, drawing visitors from across the Pittsburgh region each summer.

History

The Pennsylvania colonial assembly created Westmoreland County on 26 February 1773, the first
county in the colony whose entire territory lay west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was named
after Westmorland, a historic county in northwest England. Greensburg, named for Revolutionary
War general Nathanael Greene, became the county seat.

In 1785, a Westmoreland County court sentenced Joseph Ross to death for sodomy, the only
recorded execution for that offense in Pennsylvania’s history. The county’s coal and
coke industry grew through the 19th century, and in 1910 and 1911 a major miners’ strike
across the region turned violent; sixteen people were killed before it ended. Coal and steel
dominated the local economy for decades afterward. From 1978 to 1988, Volkswagen operated an
assembly plant in New Stanton, its only manufacturing plant in the United States at the time,
before closing it amid falling demand for the Rabbit.

Getting There

The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76) crosses the county east-west, meeting Interstate 70
at the New Stanton interchange in the county’s southwest. US Route 30 and US Route 119 run
through Greensburg, and US Route 22 crosses the county’s northern edge.

• Pittsburgh — about 30 miles west
• Johnstown — about 30 miles east
• Uniontown — about 25 miles south
• Indiana — about 20 miles north

Pittsburgh International Airport, roughly 45 miles west of Greensburg, is the nearest major
commercial hub. Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, in Unity Township near Latrobe, offers limited
commercial and charter service closer to home. Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian stops at Greensburg
station daily and calls at Latrobe as a request stop, both on the line between Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Westmoreland County located?
It sits in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, about 30 miles southeast of
Pittsburgh, bordered by Armstrong, Indiana, Cambria, Somerset, Fayette, Washington, Allegheny and
Butler counties.

What is the population of Westmoreland County?
354,663 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 349,324.

How big is Westmoreland County?
1,036 square miles (2,680 km2), of which 1,028 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Westmoreland County?
Greensburg is the county seat, though Hempfield Township has more residents than any city or
borough in the county.

How many towns and cities are in Westmoreland County?
Seven cities, the home-rule municipality of Murrysville, 37 boroughs and 21 townships, plus 20
unincorporated census-designated places.

What ZIP codes does Westmoreland County use?
15601 for Greensburg, 15068 for New Kensington and Lower Burrell, 15644 for Jeannette, 15650 for
Latrobe, 15062 for Monessen, and separate codes for Vandergrift, Mount Pleasant, Irwin, Ligonier
and Murrysville, among others.

What is Westmoreland County known for?
Idlewild and Soak Zone, the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania; Fort Ligonier’s French
and Indian War history; and its 20th-century coal, coke and steel industry.

Is Westmoreland County growing or shrinking?
Shrinking slowly. The county has lost population in recent estimates, part of a long decline tied
to the collapse of coal and steel employment.

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