Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Schuylkill County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 47 miles west of Allentown and 97 miles northwest of Philadelphia, in the state’s eastern anthracite coal region. It had a population of 143,049 at the 2020 census, an estimated 145,085 by 2025, and covers 783 square miles (2,030 km2), centred near 40°41′N 76°12′W.

Pottsville is the county seat; its postal code is 17901. The county holds 1 city, 30 boroughs and roughly 200 unincorporated communities and CDPs across 36 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 42107.

Towns & Villages in Schuylkill County

Schuylkill County has 31 incorporated municipalities on record: 1 city and 30 boroughs — the most boroughs of any Pennsylvania county. CDP stands for census designated place, an unincorporated community the Census Bureau tracks separately; Unincorp. covers hamlets and crossroads with no formal government of their own.

Two names repeat under different classifications. Pine Grove is both an incorporated borough (population 2,049) and the separate, larger Pine Grove Township (4,024) that surrounds it. Tremont borough (1,676) sits inside, but is not governed by, Tremont Township (280) — the same pattern with the opposite size gap. Ashland’s borough limits also cross into neighboring Columbia County, so a share of its 2,471 residents live outside Schuylkill County entirely.

Beyond the incorporated places, the county recognizes 39 census-designated places and well over a hundred more unincorporated hamlets and former coal-patch settlements spread across its 36 townships. The 25 largest CDPs by population:

The remaining 14 CDPs — among them Oneida, Fountain Springs, Sheppton, Summit Station and Klingerstown — plus roughly 150 more unincorporated hamlets, crossroads and former coal-patch communities scattered across the townships, carry no separate population count of their own in Census data.

Townships

Schuylkill County’s 36 townships are full local governments under Pennsylvania law, distinct from the boroughs and the city above and not subdivided into any of them. Ranked by 2020 population:

ZIP Codes

• 17901 — Pottsville (also serves the boroughs Palo Alto and Mount Carbon, plus the CDP Heckscherville)
• 18252 — Tamaqua (also serves the CDP Hometown)
• 17972 — Schuylkill Haven
• 17954 — Minersville
• 17976 — Shenandoah (also serves the CDP Shenandoah Heights)
• 17931 — Frackville
• 17948 — Mahanoy City (also serves the CDPs New Boston and Morea)
• 17961 — Orwigsburg (also serves the borough Deer Lake)
• 17970 — St. Clair
• 17921 — Ashland (also serves the CDP Fountain Springs)
• 18237 — McAdoo
• 18218 — Coaldale
• 17963 — Pine Grove (also serves the CDP Ravine)
• 17922 — Auburn (also serves the CDP Lake Wynonah)
• 17967 — Ringtown (also serves the CDP Brandonville)

Several smaller boroughs keep their own ZIP too: Cressona 17929, Tower City 17980, Girardville 17935, New Philadelphia 17959, Gordon 17936, Gilberton 17934, Middleport 17953, Port Carbon 17965, Tremont 17981, Port Clinton 19549, New Ringgold 17960 and Landingville 17942. Among the CDPs, Hegins (17938), Friedensburg (17933), Tuscarora (17982), Valley View (17983), Park Crest (18214), Kelayres (18231), Nuremberg (18241), Cumbola (17930), Branchdale (17923), Delano (18220), Oneida (18242), Sheppton (18248), Summit Station (17979), Locustdale (17945) and Klingerstown (17941) each carry a code of their own. Mechanicsville borough and most smaller CDPs and unincorporated hamlets — Forestville, Muir, Donaldson, Seltzer, Orwin and Grier City among them — have no ZIP of their own; mail there is delivered under a neighboring town’s code.

Geography

Schuylkill County sits in eastern Pennsylvania’s ridge-and-valley Appalachians, across the Southern and Western Middle anthracite coal fields. Of its 783 square miles, 779 are land and 4.2 are water, about 0.5 percent — a low share, since the county has no large natural lake. The Schuylkill River itself rises within the county before flowing south toward Reading and Philadelphia.

Columbia County lies to the northwest, Luzerne County to the north, Carbon County to the northeast, Lehigh County to the southeast, Berks County to the south, Lebanon and Dauphin counties to the southwest, and Northumberland County to the west. Columbia County, Luzerne County, Carbon County, Lehigh County, Berks County, Lebanon County and Dauphin County all keep their own Towns & Villages page; Northumberland County does not.

Demographics

Schuylkill County had a population of 143,049 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau estimate puts the county near 145,085 residents. Pottsville and Tamaqua are its two largest communities. Median household income runs $68,313 (2024 estimate), below Pennsylvania’s statewide figure of $73,824 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to about 184 people per square mile of land, light for eastern Pennsylvania, reflecting a population that peaked near 235,505 in 1930, at the height of anthracite mining, and has declined in most decades since.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 11,668 people, followed by health care and social assistance at 10,623 and retail trade at 7,575. D.G. Yuengling & Son, founded in Pottsville in 1829 by David Yuengling, is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States and remains one of the county’s most recognized employers and namesakes. Pottsville anchors its own micropolitan statistical area, and Tamaqua and Mahanoy City — both former coal-shipping towns on the old Philadelphia and Reading Railroad lines — hold smaller retail and health care clusters of their own.

History

Pennsylvania’s colonial proprietors bought the land that became Schuylkill County from the Iroquois, Delaware, Shamokin and Shawnee in 1749. The legislature created the county on March 1, 1811, from parts of Berks and Northampton counties and named it for the Schuylkill River, which rises within its borders; more territory was added from Columbia and Luzerne counties in 1818. Pottsville, platted in 1806 by John Pott, was incorporated as a borough in 1828 and chartered as a city in 1911.

Necho Allen discovered anthracite coal near present-day Pottsville in 1790, and mining grew into the county’s dominant industry through the 19th and early 20th centuries, moving coal first by canal and later by railroad. The Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish immigrant miners, fought company control of the coalfields through the 1860s and 1870s. On November 5, 1934, a political dispute in Kline Township’s Kelayres turned violent when shots were fired into a crowd of Democratic marchers, killing several people and injuring more than 20 — one of the deadliest election-related incidents in Pennsylvania history.

Getting There

Interstate 81 crosses the county’s center, passing Pottsville, Frackville and Tamaqua — the only interstate that reaches the county. US Route 209 and 13 state routes, including PA 61, PA 54 and PA 309, also cross Schuylkill County.

• Allentown — about 47 miles east
• Reading — about 28 miles south
• Harrisburg — about 46 miles southwest
• Wilkes-Barre — about 42 miles northeast

Philadelphia, the state’s largest city, lies about 97 miles southeast. Lehigh Valley International Airport, near Allentown, is the nearest airport with scheduled commercial service; the county’s own Schuylkill County Airport in North Manheim Township handles general aviation only. No Amtrak train serves the county; the nearest station is in Philadelphia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Schuylkill County located?
It sits in eastern Pennsylvania’s coal region, about 47 miles west of Allentown and 97 miles northwest of Philadelphia, bordered by Columbia, Luzerne, Carbon, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin and Northumberland counties.

What is the population of Schuylkill County?
143,049 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 145,085.

How big is Schuylkill County?
783 square miles (2,030 km2), of which 779 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Schuylkill County?
Pottsville, chartered as a city in 1911, is the county seat and largest municipality.

How many towns and villages are in Schuylkill County?
31 incorporated places — 1 city and 30 boroughs — plus 39 CDPs and well over a hundred smaller unincorporated communities across 36 townships.

What ZIP codes does Schuylkill County use?
17901 for Pottsville, 18252 for Tamaqua, 17972 for Schuylkill Haven, 17976 for Shenandoah and 17931 for Frackville among the largest; most smaller boroughs and CDPs keep their own code too.

What is Schuylkill County known for?
Anthracite coal mining and D.G. Yuengling & Son, founded in Pottsville in 1829 and the oldest operating brewery in the United States.

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