Mercer County, Pennsylvania

Mercer County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 120,293. Its is ;  is its largest city.

Mercer County was part of the  as designated by the  until the 2000 census, when it was appended to the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,768 (683 ). 1,740 km² (672 sq mi) of it is land and 28 km² (11 sq mi) of it (1.58%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 120,293 people, 46,712 households, and 32,371 families residing in the county. The was 69/km² (179/sq mi). There were 49,859 housing units at an average density of 29/km² (74/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 93.13%, 5.25% or , 0.11% , 0.40% , 0.02% , 0.17% from , and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.67% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 46,712 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

Political bellwether
Mercer County is considered a political bellwether for the state of Pennsylvania since its demographics, urban/rural ratio, and party affiliation closly mirror the state as a whole. This failed to hold true during the however when  won Mercer County with 51% of the vote. That year won the state as a whole with 51% of the popular vote.

Municipalities
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:, , townships, and, in at most two cases,. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Mercer County:

Higher Education

 * (Grove City)
 * (Greenville)
 * , Shenango Campus (Sharon)

Career-Based Education

 * , Sharon
 * , Mercer
 * , Hermitage
 * , Sharon
 * , Transfer



Recreation
There is one in Mercer County. , named for, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, is just off exit 130 of on  near.