Somerset County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, in the Laurel Highlands region along the state’s southern border. It had a population of 74,129 at the 2020 census and covers 1,074 square miles (2,780 km2) of land, centred near 39°58′N 79°02′W.
Somerset is the county seat; its postal code is 15501. The county contains 25 boroughs and 25 townships, no cities, sits in the Eastern time zone, and carries FIPS code 42111.
Towns & Villages in Somerset County
Somerset County has 25 incorporated boroughs and dozens of smaller unincorporated communities scattered across its 25 townships. Boroughs are self-governing; the unincorporated places listed below are post-office villages or crossroads served by a rural ZIP code, with no municipal government of their own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | Borough · seat | — | 15501 |
| Windber | Borough | — | 15963 |
| Meyersdale | Borough | — | 15552 |
| Berlin | Borough | — | 15530 |
| Boswell | Borough | — | 15531 |
| Salisbury | Borough | — | 15558 |
| Rockwood | Borough | — | 15557 |
| Confluence | Borough | — | 15424 |
| Stoystown | Borough | — | 15563 |
| Jennerstown | Borough | — | 15547 |
| Shanksville | Borough | — | 15560 |
| Central City | Borough | — | 15926 |
| Hooversville | Borough | — | 15936 |
| Garrett | Borough | — | 15542 |
| New Baltimore | Borough | — | 15553 |
| Ursina | Borough | — | 15485 |
| Wellersburg | Borough | — | 15564 |
| Addison | Borough | — | 15411 |
| Benson | Borough | — | — |
| Callimont | Borough | — | — |
| Casselman | Borough | — | — |
| Indian Lake | Borough | — | — |
| New Centerville | Borough | — | — |
| Paint | Borough | — | — |
| Seven Springs | Borough | — | — |
| Friedens | Unincorp. | — | 15541 |
| Hollsopple | Unincorp. | — | 15935 |
| Davidsville | Unincorp. | — | 15928 |
| Markleton | Unincorp. | — | 15551 |
| Springs | Unincorp. | — | 15562 |
| Acosta | Unincorp. | — | 15520 |
| Sipesville | Unincorp. | — | 15561 |
| West Salisbury | Unincorp. | — | 15565 |
| Listie | Unincorp. | — | 15549 |
| Kantner | Unincorp. | — | 15548 |
| Fairhope | Unincorp. | — | 15538 |
| Jenners | Unincorp. | — | 15546 |
| Jerome | Unincorp. | — | 15937 |
| Cairnbrook | Unincorp. | — | 15924 |
| Boynton | Unincorp. | — | 15532 |
| Gray | Unincorp. | — | 15544 |
| Seanor | Unincorp. | — | 15953 |
| Quecreek | Unincorp. | — | 15555 |
| Tire Hill | Unincorp. | — | 15959 |
| Hidden Valley | Unincorp. | — | 15502 |
| Buckstown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Somerfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sand Patch | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Glencoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Barronvale | Unincorp. | — | — |
Somerfield is a former town largely inundated by the Youghiogheny River Lake reservoir in the 1940s; a handful of buildings remain on higher ground. Quecreek is the site of the 2002 mine-rescue where nine miners survived nine days trapped underground — not a formal municipality, just the crossroads nearest the shaft.
Townships
Somerset County’s 25 townships cover the land outside its boroughs. Per-township 2020 census populations and confirmed settlement lists were not available from a verified source at time of writing, so most cells are omitted rather than estimated; the one exception below is documented in national reporting on the Flight 93 crash site.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Addison Township | — | — |
| Allegheny Township | — | — |
| Black Township | — | — |
| Brothersvalley Township | — | — |
| Conemaugh Township | — | — |
| Elk Lick Township | — | — |
| Fairhope Township | — | — |
| Greenville Township | — | — |
| Jefferson Township | — | — |
| Jenner Township | — | — |
| Larimer Township | — | — |
| Lincoln Township | — | — |
| Lower Turkeyfoot Township | — | — |
| Middlecreek Township | — | — |
| Milford Township | — | — |
| Northampton Township | — | — |
| Ogle Township | — | — |
| Paint Township | — | — |
| Quemahoning Township | — | — |
| Shade Township | — | — |
| Somerset Township | — | — |
| Southampton Township | — | — |
| Stonycreek Township | — | Flight 93 National Memorial, near Shanksville |
| Summit Township | — | — |
| Upper Turkeyfoot Township | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 15501 — Somerset (post office town, also serves most of Somerset Township)
- 15963 — Windber
- 15552 — Meyersdale
- 15530 — Berlin
- 15531 — Boswell
- 15558 — Salisbury (also serves West Salisbury)
- 15557 — Rockwood
- 15424 — Confluence
- 15563 — Stoystown
- 15547 — Jennerstown
- 15560 — Shanksville
- 15926 — Central City
- 15936 — Hooversville
- 15542 — Garrett
- 15553 — New Baltimore
- 15485 — Ursina
- 15564 — Wellersburg
- 15411 — Addison
- 15541 — Friedens
- 15935 — Hollsopple
- 15928 — Davidsville
- 15551 — Markleton
- 15562 — Springs
- 15520 — Acosta
- 15502 — Hidden Valley (also serves the Seven Springs / Hidden Valley resort area)
Somerset County has 40 ZIP codes in total; the small boroughs of Benson, Callimont, Casselman, Indian Lake, New Centerville, Paint and Seven Springs share a neighboring town’s postal code rather than carrying their own.
Geography
Somerset County sits atop the Allegheny Plateau in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, straddling the Eastern Continental Divide. Mount Davis, at 3,213 feet, is Pennsylvania’s highest natural point and lies in the county’s Negro Mountain range. The Casselman River and the Stonycreek River drain the county, and the Youghiogheny River forms much of its southern edge, impounded as Youghiogheny River Lake near Confluence. Heavy lake-effect snowfall off Lake Erie makes the county’s higher ridges among the snowiest inhabited places in the eastern United States.
Somerset County borders Cambria County to the north, Westmoreland County to the northwest, Fayette County to the west, Bedford County to the east, and Garrett County and Allegany County in Maryland to the south. Cambria County and Westmoreland County both link through the shared Laurel Highlands ridgeline; Fayette County shares the Youghiogheny River valley; Bedford County lies across the mountains to the east; and Garrett County and Allegany County in Maryland sit just across the Mason-Dixon Line.
Demographics
Somerset County had 74,129 residents at the 2020 census, a population density of roughly 69 people per square mile spread across a mostly rural county. Windber and the Somerset borough are the county’s two largest communities, followed by Meyersdale and Berlin. Household income in Somerset County runs below the Pennsylvania median of $73,824, reflecting the county’s shift away from coal mining toward services, tourism and light manufacturing.
Economy & Local Life
Coal and coke production drove Somerset County’s economy for a century, and reclaimed mine land still marks the landscape around Windber, Central City and Boswell. Today the county’s largest private employers include Seven Springs Mountain Resort and Hidden Valley Resort, twin four-season ski and golf destinations that anchor the Laurel Highlands tourism trade, alongside Somerset Hospital and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which is headquartered at the Somerset interchange. A sizeable Old Order Amish and Mennonite community farms the rolling land around Meyersdale and New Baltimore — the second-oldest continuously settled Amish community in the world, founded in 1772. The Meyersdale Maple Festival, held each spring, celebrates the county’s maple-syrup industry and draws visitors from across the region.
History
Somerset County was formed on April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County, and named after Somerset, England. Settlement began earlier, in the 1760s and 1770s, as German and Scots-Irish farmers pushed west over the Alleghenies. The county’s economy turned to coal in the late 1800s, and Windber grew into a company town built around the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a reclaimed strip mine in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville after passengers confronted hijackers; the site is now the Flight 93 National Memorial, administered by the National Park Service. In July 2002, nine coal miners survived nine days trapped underground after breaking into a flooded, abandoned mine shaft near Quecreek, in a rescue that drew national attention.
Getting There
The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76) crosses the county east-west with an interchange at Somerset, and US Route 219 runs north-south through the county as a four-lane expressway linking Meyersdale, Somerset and Windber toward Johnstown.
- Johnstown — 25 miles north
- Pittsburgh — 75 miles northwest
- Cumberland, Maryland — 30 miles south
- Bedford — 30 miles east
The nearest commercial air service is Pittsburgh International Airport, roughly 75 miles northwest; John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, about 25 miles north, offers limited regional flights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Somerset County, Pennsylvania?
Somerset County is in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, on the Maryland border, roughly 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
What is the population of Somerset County?
Somerset County had a population of 74,129 at the 2020 census.
How big is Somerset County?
The county covers 1,074 square miles (2,780 km2) of land.
What is the county seat of Somerset County?
Somerset is the county seat.
How many towns and boroughs are in Somerset County?
Somerset County has 25 incorporated boroughs and 25 townships, plus numerous smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Somerset County?
Somerset County has 40 ZIP codes; the county seat’s is 15501, with others including 15963 (Windber), 15552 (Meyersdale) and 15558 (Salisbury).
What is Somerset County known for?
Somerset County is home to Pennsylvania’s highest natural point, Mount Davis; the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville; and the Seven Springs and Hidden Valley ski resorts in the Laurel Highlands.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Pennsylvania.