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Pennsylvania

 

Summary Demographic State Data (and Source)
Population (2008 CB est.): 12,488,279
Population (2000 Census): 12,281,054
Foreign-Born Population (2008 FAIR ) 683,890
Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census): 508,291
Share Foreign-Born (2008 FAIR est.): 5.5%
Share Foreign-Born (2000): 4.1%
Immigrant Stock (2000 CB est.): 1,175,000
Share Immigrant Stock (2000 est.): 9.6%
Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2006 CB est.): 315,485
Share Naturalized (2006): 49.6%
Legal Immigrant Admission (DHS 1997- 2006): 186,775
Refugee Admission (DHS 1997-2006): 19,700
Illegal Alien Population (2008 FAIR est.): 140,000
Projected 2050 Population - (2006 FAIR): 14,547,975

Pennsylvania : Census Bureau Data


STATE POPULATION

Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 Pennsylvania’s population had increased to 12,488,279 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 20,150 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 0.2 percent per year.

Pennsylvania Population 1900-2008

Net International Migration (NIM)

Based on the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2008 the state’s population increased by about 133,565 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 16,090 residents, i.e., nearly four-fifths (79.9%) of the total increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).


Pennsylvania Sources of Population Change 2000-08

The 2000 Census found 12,281,054 persons resident in Pennsylvania. This was an increase of 399,411 persons above the 1990 Census. The rate of increase (3.4%) was less than the national average of 9.9 percent.

The 2000 population is about 80,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its most recent state population projections in 1996. The significance of this is that the Census Bureau has concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.

Pennsylvania had the 47th greatest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000.

Pennsylvania’s population rose by 0.1 percent between 1980-1990 (from 11,864,720 to 11,881,643).

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Pennsylvania was 639,992 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Pennsylvania was about 683,890 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 5.5 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 21,155 people, which is more than the total (105%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 34.5 percent compared to a 0.1 percent decrease in the native-born population.

Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. An 11 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 15,915 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 37,070 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., nearly double (184%) the state’s overall population increase.

Pennsylvania Foreign-Born Population 1970-2008


A comparison of the increase in the immigrant population since 1990 with the change in the overall population during the same period shows that immigrant settlement directly accounted for 34.8 percent of the state's overall population increase over that decade.

The 2000 Census found that 41.1 percent of Pennsylvania's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, although it is slightly lower than the national average (43.7%).

An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in Pennsylvania increased slightly, from 7.3 percent to 7.9 percent. About two-fifths (37.9%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

Speakers of Foreign Languages
(at home in Pennsylvania in the 2000 Census)
Spanish 356,740
Italian 70,435
German 68,665
French 46,900
Pennsylvania Dutch 39,605
Chinese 35,545
Russian 32,190
Polish 31,715
Korean 25,980
Vietnamese 25,880
(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 636,567 residents, an increase of 44.7 percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 369,316 to 508,291 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 108.0 percent.

The ten countries below constituted approximately 72.2% of the foreign-born population in Pennsylvania in 2006. Of the total foreign-born population, 6.6 percent were born in India, 7.2 percent in China, and 6.4 percent in Mexico.

Foreign-Born Change: Top Ten Countries 1990-2006
Rank Country 1990     Country 2000     Country 2006
1 Italy 41,185 India 37,541 India 55,508
2 Germany 29,297 Soviet Union 32,254 China 41,735
3 United Kingdom 25,214 China 31,735 Mexico 40,898
4 India 17,824 Italy 30,559 Korea 28,551
5 Soviet Union 17,613 Korea 26,703 Vietnam 26,613
6 Korea 16,699 Vietnam 26,656 Germany 24,543
7 Poland 14,230 Germany 25,685 Italy 23,332
8 Vietnam 14,182 Mexico 24,232 Canada 16,262
9 Canada 12,952 United Kingdom 23,171 Jamaica 13,595
10 China 8,952 Canda 15,200 Poland 13,498
All Others 171,166 All Others 234,555  All Others 352,032
Total 369,316 Total 508, 291 Total 284,535
THE IMMIGRANT STOCK

The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 1,175,000 people in Pennsylvania in 2000 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate, and the population of 12,281,054, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 9.6 percent.

As the graph below shows, the amount of Pennsylvania’s population change due to the increase in the foreign stock is rising rapidly. Over the past 34 years the new immigrants and children born to them have added about 671,500 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for all of the state’s population increase, and then some (110.4%).

Pennsylvania Foreign Stock


NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 315,485 residents, or 49.6 percent, of the foreign-born population in Pennsylvania were citizens, compared to 257,339 residents, or 50.6 percent, in 2000.

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000 and 42.0 percent were citizens in 2006.

Population Projection

Pennsylvania --Projected Population in 2050: Projection Scenarios

    Amnesty+         High-trend         Low-trend         Zero-net    
    14,547,975         14,262,384         13,989,146         12,801,702    

pa 2050 projection


Pennsylvania's projected population in 2050 could range anywhere from under 12.8 million to over 14.5 million residents. The about 1.7 million person difference between these extremes depends on whether policies aimed at immigration stability are adopted or, instead, currently advocated policies that would accommodate today's illegal alien population, allow a new stream of guest workers and increase legal immigration are adopted.

Without any change in immigration policy or enforcement, i.e., with the current trend in large-scale legal and illegal immigration, the state's population is likely to increase from today's about 12.4 million residents to 14 to 14.3 million in 2050 - an increase of 13 to 15 percent.

The largest difference from the current trend comes in comparison with a zero-net immigration scenario (when arriving immigrants balance those who are departing). In that case, the population would still grow, but more modestly by about 3 percent. However, if the currently proposed immigration expansionist and illegal alien accommodationist policies were adopted, the increase in the projected population over the next 45 years would be about 17 percent.

Pennsylvania -- Projected Population in 2050: Cohorts

    1970 Pop.         Post-'70 Stock         Legal Post-'04         Illegal Post-'04         Amnesty+    
    11,805,641         996,061         1,188,764         271,918         285,591    

pa 2050 cohort projection


The projection indicates that the population that was already in the country in 1970 - before the effect of the 1965 major change in immigration law - will be stable. Some natural increase among members of this cohort may be balanced by some out migration from the state.

The post-1970 immigrant cohort is projected to be growing - by about 46 percent. This rate of growth is influenced by the larger average family size of the immigrants. At the beginning of the projection, this post-1970 immigrant cohort already accounted for about 680,000 residents. By 2050, this cohort is projected to rise to about one million residents.

Without any change in the immigration laws, current mass immigration will continue. Pennsylvania has had an average of more than 16,000 legal immigrant admissions per year between 1994 and 2003. Nearly half (47%) are Asians. About 14 percent of those admissions have been Mexicans and immigrants from other Spanish-speaking countries. Immigration from countries with predominantly white populations has been about 32 percent, and nearly 8 percent has been from countries with black populations in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. We project that under the amnesty/guest worker scenario new legal immigrants and their children will add about 1.2 million people to the state's population over the next 45 years.

We estimate that Pennsylvania's illegal alien population now numbers more than 90,000 persons. The continued addition of illegal immigrants over the next 45 years, if undeterred by tough new measures, is projected to add about 272,000 persons to the population. This will come from new illegal residents and their children born after their arrival.

Finally, we project that proposals for amnesty and other provision that are currently being advocated, if adopted, would add a further 285,000 persons to the state's population over the next 45 years. This would result from the family members of amnesty recipients, increased legal immigration, and increased long-term guest worker residents.

Pennsylvania -- Projected Population in 2050: Demographic Change

    White, not Hispanic         Mexican         Other Hispanic         Black         Asian         Other    
    10,214,671         447,559         1,114,617         1,623,555         1,007,116         140,457    

pa 2050 ethnicity projection


The rate of population change for the various scenarios depends on the demographic composition of the influx of continuing and additional immigrants because they represent different trends in family size. That is true for the post-70 immigrant cohort as well as for new immigrant populations. Pennsylvania's 1970 population was predominantly white, but also with significant black populations. The non-Hispanic white population is projected to decrease slightly (1%) between 2005 and 2050, influenced by persons moving to other states.

Because a large share of the pre-70 and post-70 immigrant population as well as continuing immigration and potential amnesty beneficiaries is Hispanic, and this population has on average larger than replacement family size, this population segment is projected to rise by more than 1.1 million residents (about a 250% increase).

Asians who are heavily represented in the legal immigrant flow and among illegal immigrants are projected to add more than 700,000 residents, growing by 217 percent. The rate of increase for blacks is projected to be 32 percent.

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Pennsylvania : Extended Data

REFUGEE SETTLEMENT

Pennsylvania has received 19,700 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06), with 1,335 arriving in FY’06.


Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS) assistance funding for FY'02 $2,072,545 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Pennsylvania based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 8,258 refugees (an average of $251 per refugee). This allocation does not include a larger share (55%) of funding programs for communities heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrants, communities with refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, communities impacted by federal welfare reform changes, educational support to schools with significant refugee students, and discretionary grants. ORR grants for FY’05 and FY’06 respectively were $7,369,992 and $8,103,993.

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS

Data are not available nationally on immigrant students (either legally or illegally resident in the United States) who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools (K-12). However, many of these students are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learning (LEP/ELL) instruction programs. Many may be U.S.-born, but the majority of these students may be assumed to be either immigrants or the children of immigrants, with the exception being areas with native Americans who speak a native language other than English.


In Pennsylvania, overall enrollment in 2002 (1,810,390) was 11.6 percent below enrollment in 1995. By contrast, LEP enrollment (31,353 - 1.7% of all enrollment) was 57.6 percent higher than in 1995.

Data on enrollment in LEP/ELL programs are collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data on LEP/ELL enrollment are understated because data from private schools that do not apply for Title VII assistance are sketchy.

FOREIGN STUDENTS
The 2006/07 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Pennsylvania as 23,182. Six school in Pennsylvania are listed as having a major concentration of these students:

  • Penn State University had enrollment of 3,681 foreign students, 8.6% of total enrollment.
  • University Penn.-Philadelphia had enrollment of 4,484 foreign students, 18.9% of total enrollment.
  • Carnegie Mellon University had enrollment of 2,767 foreign students, 27.3% of total enrollment.
  • Temple University had enrollment of 1,836 foreign students, 5.4% of total enrollment.
  • University Pittsburgh had enrollment of 1,657 foreign students, 6.2% of total enrollment.
  • Drexel University had enrollment of 1,582 foreign students, 8.0% of total enrollment.

Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Pennsylvania from 1960-2000.


LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

You can view a listing of local immigration reform groups here.

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD

You can view the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.

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Pennsylvania : Immigrant Admissions


Pennsylvania Immigrant Admissions
by Fiscal Year
FY'93 16,964
FY'94 15,971
FY'95 15,065
FY'96 16,938
FY'97 14,553
FY'98 11,942
FY'99 13,514
FY'00 18,148
FY'01 21,441
FY'02 19,473
Total 164,099

Recent immigrant admissions are more than eighty percent higher than the level of admissions just after adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 9,300 immigrants. During the 1998-'02 period, admissions averaged about 16,905 immigrants.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative INS immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 6,976 in FY'65 to 21,441 in FY'01. The cumulative total of admissions to Pennsylvania between fiscal years 1965 and 2002 was 475,139 immigrants.




The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. According to INS data (1991) the number of amnesty applicants from Pennsylvania was 9,284 (3,146 pre-1982 residents and 6,138 agricultural workers).

The data for FY'95 and FY'97-'99 were artificially low because the INS did not issue green cards to all the eligible applicants for adjustment of status who were already in the United States. In those three years, new immigration could have registered as much as 30 percent higher, if the INS had kept up with its workload.

Beginning with FY'01, the INS began to increase admissions as a result of reducing the size of the backlog of Section 245(i) adjustment of status cases, i.e., amnesty, for illegal aliens.

INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'93 - FY'02
The INS data below are furnished for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1993. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.

The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in Pennsylvania during this period.

Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year
Country FY'93 FY'94 FY'95 FY'96 FY'97 FY'98 FY'99 FY'00 FY'01 FY'02 Total
Bangladesh - - - 140 158 164 116 178 - 159 915
Canada 390 422 349 381 320 260 283 499 614 505 4,023
China * 2,229 1,908 1,105 1,298 1,233 1,081 1,206 1,726 1,991 1,858 15,635
Colombia 171 143 225 188 198 190 158 248 244 333 2,098
Cuba 24 42 37 62 154 78 124 124 109 108 862
Dom. Rep. 195 369 304 296 239 245 223 247 329 395 2,842
Ecuador 64 - 53 68 61 72 87 110 107 109 731
El Salvador 49 30 30 37 41 38 26 42 91 54 444
Germany 203 229 203 - 166 161 167 252 305 242 1,928
Guatemala 81 67 41 57 76 98 108 155 167 220 1,070
Guyana 32 44 66 63 35 23 22 42 - 102 429
Haiti 96 139 268 316 186 122 231 269 186 204 2,017
Honduras 78 - - - 71 35 56 50 - 53 343
India 1,397 1,343 1,350 1,785 1,303 1,127 1,190 1,714 2,904 2,473 16,586
Iran 139 148 117 164 145 129 109 124 105 92 1,272
Ireland 470 576 - - 35 37 30 42 - 50 1,240
Jamaica 397 354 437 489 427 349 368 377 355 352 3,905
Japan - 102 - - 101 98 98 139 115 101 754
Korea 518 466 546 553 458 493 432 591 668 692 5,417
Mexico 220 556 735 692 655 625 758 1,081 1,031 883 7,236
Nicaragua - - - - 42 17 40 93 80 41 313
Nigeria - - 152 196 160 148 160 213 - 204 1,233
Pakistan 181 195 202 231 251 233 296 277 313 229 2,408
Peru 111 77 77 97 107 77 98 106 108 119 977
Philippines 549 460 362 440 463 265 314 464 518 482 4,317
Poland 542 535 352 352 283 179 183 253 262 235 3,176
Sov. Un. * 2,920 2,592 2,585 1,833 1,467 1,217 1,677 2,213 1,806 2,162 20,472
Trin.& Tob. - 182 - - 171 149 100 184 - 149 935
U. Kingdom 729 664 424 442 417 318 272 524 572 437 4,799
Vietnam 1,637 1,040 1,028 961 784 586 719 879 1,159 957 9,750
Yugo. * - - 194 258 319 127 412 311 704 1,165 3,490
Other 3,542 3,288 3,823 5,539 4,021 3,201 3,451 4,621 6,598 4,308 42,392
Total 16,964 15,971 15,065 16,938 14,553 11,942 13,514 18,148 21,441 19,473 164,009

A dash (-) indicates that the data for that year were not published for that country in the INS Statistical Yearbook.
* China data include Hong Kong and Taiwan. Former USSR data continued since break-up (except FY'96-'97 and ’01 include only Russia and Ukraine). Former Yugoslavia data continued since break-up.

The 31 nationalities above represent nearly three-quarters (74.2%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Pennsylvania during this ten-year period. One-eighth of all immigrants were from the former Soviet Union (12.5%). Those immigrants plus ones from China, and India account for nearly one-third (32.1%) of total admissions since 1993.

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Pennsylvania : Illegal Aliens

FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 140,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated in February 2003 that the resident illegal population in Pennsylvania was 49,000 as of January 2000. This number 12,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 125,000 to 175,000 as of 2005.

COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

Incarceration Costs
Pennsylvania has received partial compensation under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that was established in 1994 to compensate the states and local jurisdictions for incarceration of "undocumented," aliens who are serving time for a felony conviction or at least two misdemeanors.

The recent SCAAP amounts that Pennsylvania has received were:

FY’99  —  $5,151,511
FY’00  —  $4,306,272
FY’01  —  $2,273,565
FY’02  —  $2,683,207
FY’03  —  $1,266,741
FY’04  —  $1,693,912

The amount of SCAAP awards has been declining in both total distributions and even more as a share of the state’s expenses. In FY’99 the state received 38.6% of its costs for 539 prisoner years of detention. By FY’02, the state’s reported illegal alien detention rose by 19 percent to 640 prisoner years, while compensation fell by 48 percent and since has decreased sharply.  

Medical Costs

Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are in the country legally or whether they are able to pay for the treatment. Congress in 2003 enacted an appropriation of $250 million per year (for 4 years) to help offset some of the costs due to use of this service by illegal aliens. This amount has been allocated among the states based upon estimates of the illegal alien population and data on the apprehension of illegal aliens in each state. This amount compensates only a fraction of the medical outlays. For Pennsylvania, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $1,168,499.

Educational Costs 

In our study Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Redwe estimated based on 2004 data that educational expenditures for illegal immigration were costing the Pennsylvania taxpayer $228.5million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($95.2 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($133.3 million).

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Pennsylvania : Poll Data


 

Rasmussen Poll: Arizona Law SB 1070
July 2010

Suppose the new Arizona immigration law was being considered for your state. Would you favor or oppose passage of that law in your state?

The U.S. Justice Department has decided to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law in federal court. Do you agree or disagree with the decision to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law?

 

 

A Rasmussen Poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania on June 2, 2010 found:

  • 71% believe that the U.S. military should be deployed on the Mexican border to help prevent illegal immigration. Only 16% are opposed.
  • 58% do not think the U.S. Justice Department should challenge the Arizona’s new immigration law in court. 22% support the Justice Department taking Arizona to federal court.

A Quinnipiac University Poll of voters in Pennsylvania conducted between November 26 - December 3, 2007 found:

  • 72% favor stricter immigration laws and are opposed to amnesty
  • 20% would not vote for a candidate if they completely disagree with him or her on immigration, but agree on other issues

A Susquehanna Polling and Research poll voters in Pennsylvania on Oct 1 - 6, 2006 found:

  • 78% of Pittsburgh residents support the Hazelton, PA laws that are tough on illegal immigration.
  • 78% of Republicans and 57% of Democrats support the tough immigration laws in Hazelton, P.A.
  • 63% say they would like similar laws in their community as were established in Hazelton, PA, the "toughest place on illegal immigration in the country".

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Pennsylvania : Immigration Impact


Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

In Lancaster County, where population increased by 11 percent in the 1990s (with the foreign-born population jumping by 67 percent), 35 percent of residents say that traffic congestion and inadequate roads are the least appealing aspects of the county; 28 percent said overdevelopment is the worst part of life in the county. 31 percent said quality of life in the county has declined in the last five years.1

Crowded Housing: An estimated 55,565 of Pennsylvania's housing units were classified as crowded in 2008, defined as units with more than one occupant per room. This amounted to 1.1 percent of the state's housing units. In addition, 14,686 were severely crowded, with at least 1.5 occupants per room.2 Nationwide, children in immigrant families were three times as likely to live in crowded conditions as children in native families (27 percent to 9 percent). In Pennsylvania, 11 percent of children in immigrant families live in crowded housing, compared to just 5 percent of children with native-born parents.3

The Lancaster metro area has the second-highest rate of crowded housing in Pennsylvania.4

Water: Pennsylvania has a per-capita, water usage of 118.9 gallons per day.5 This means that by 2050, human demand for water could increase by up to 173.8 million gallons per day. In addition to creating a demand for water that will ultimately be unsustainable, population driven urban sprawl in Pennsylvania has led to increases in water pollution, exacerbating the problem. For example, Philadelphia, which draws its drinking water from the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, has seen an alarming number of chemicals in the water supply. Tests have revealed 17 different drugs or byproducts in the drinking system and 32 in the watershed, the highest test numbers of any metropolitan area reported by the Associated Press.6

Although concentrations are very low, and measured in parts per trillion, these contaminants certainly pose risks to human wellbeing and the environment. Robert Wendelgass, deputy national director of Clean Water Action, testified that even infinitesimal doses of these chemicals could be harmful to public health. "Common sense," he said "suggests it is not a good idea to drink other people's medicine."7

Urban sprawl in Pittsburgh also poses problems for the city's water supply. The water system is so strained that significant sewage leaks pollute the rivers between 80-90 times per year. It will cost an estimated $8 billion to repair over the next 10 years, which will likely drive up the cost of water.

Additionally, estrogen mimicking chemicals, entering the rivers through the sewage leaks, have been detected in high levels in the area fish. These chemicals come from pesticides, cosmetics, cleaners, and various pharmaceutical drugs. In addition to the public health risk, these chemicals are clearly harming the environment. It was difficult to identify the gender of 85 percent of the channel catfish caught on the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers near the largest point of sewage leakage. When tested in a lab, the extracted chemicals caused significant growth in breast cancer cells.8

Traffic: Pennsylvania highways endured a 26 percent increase in traffic between 1990 and 2008. Over one-third (34%) of the state's highways are considered congested.9  As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Pennsylvania residents increased from 22 minutes in 1990 to 25.1 minutes in 2005.10 About 15 percent of Pennsylvania commuters had a commute of 45 minutes or longer in 2008.11

Each Philadelphia commuter lost an estimated 38 hours and 24 gallons of fuel in 2007 due to the effects of traffic congestion. The time and fuel wasted by those commuters was valued at $2.3 billion. In Pittsburgh, commuters lost 15 hours each due to congestion-related delays. Traffic was worse in the Allentown-Bethlehem area, where commuters wasted 26 hours and 17 gallons of gas.12  At a given moment, freeways in the state were more than four times as likely to be congested in 1999 as they were in 1982.13

The state's road conditions have not kept up with increasing demand. More than three in seven (43%) of Pennsylvania's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and 44 percent of bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Drivers pay the cost of overdue road repairs the typical Pennsylvania commuter spends $341 on additional maintenance and operational costs each year due to road conditions.14

Disappearing open space: The amount of developed land in Pennsylvania increased by 1,596,900 acres from 1982 to 2007, growing at a pace of 44,890 acres per year over the last ten years of that period.15

In an effort to save farmland, Lancaster County implemented a growth management plan in 1993, limiting new development to urban growth boundaries. But many areas have developed far faster than expected, and the 2002 Lancaster County Growth Tracking Report found that 60 percent of the more than 10,000 acres developed since the plan's implementation have been outside of the boundaries, on farmlands and in woods.16

Because of habitat loss and pollution, more than 150 animals and plants have been lost from the state, and more than 800 are classified as rare, threatened or endangered, according to the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership.17

A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 412.4 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and 11.2 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase.18 Pennsylvania was ranked 6th in the U.S. for losing prime farmland acreage.19

Air Pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. Three of the 20 U.S. cities and counties with the most ozone air pollution are in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Lancaster.20 Pennsylvania has the third highest number of smog days in the nation.21 Of the 33 state counties included in the American Lung Association's 2010 assessment, 26 were rated an "F" for risk of ozone exposure, and only one earned a grade higher than "C."22

Poverty: Pennsylvania's immigrants are more likely to be poor than their native-born counterparts. In 2007, 9.0 percent of foreign-born households were below the poverty line, compared to 8.2 percent of native households. An additional 6.6 percent of the foreign-born and 5.3 percent of native households were not in poverty but had incomes less than 1.5 times the poverty level.23 18.7 percent of children in immigrant families were poor in 2006, compared to 15.9 percent of native children.24

Schools: Between 2000 and 2006 Pennsylvania's K-12 student enrollment increased by almost 14,000 students.25 Pennsylvania's student-teacher ratio of 15 ranks 28th in the U.S.26

In Pittsburgh's South Fayette school district, a population increase of more than 40 percent in the 1990s has crowded classrooms, forced students into trailers, and required millions of dollars to be spent on new school construction.27 Two years after building a $34 million, 230,000-square-foot-campus, Hellertown's Saucon Valley School District began running out of space again. Class sizes have ballooned and some classes are held in closet-sized rooms.28 In Lancaster County's Conestoga Valley School District, overcrowding has forced several hundred students to be reassigned to new schools.29 Some Pittsburgh elementary schools have more than 30 or more students per class (ideal size is considered 18).30

Solid Waste: Pennsylvania generates 1.03 tons of solid waste per capita each year.31 If this rate does not decrease, population growth projected between 2006 and 2050 will add about 2.1 million tons of additional solid waste each year.

Endnotes:

  1. Justin Quinn, "Sprawl Still Tops Residents' Concerns," Intelligencer Journal, November 15, 2002.
  2. American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates 2006-2008. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool.
  3. Kids Count Data Center, Kids Count Data Center, 2008 American Community Survey Data.
  4. American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates 2006-2008. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool. Among metropolitan areas with more than 20,000 people (database does not return data for smaller areas).
  5. U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
  6. U.S. Water News Online. "Philadelphia wants local, federal action to curb drugs in water." April, 2008
  7. Katelyn Polantz. "Pittsburgh's rivers, water full of toxins." The Pitt-News. March 22, 2007.
  8. Don Hopey. "Fish study raises red flag on water supply." Pittsburge Post-Gazette. June 21, 2007
  9. Report Card for America's Infrastructure, Accessed July 22, 2010 (2009 Data).
  10. "Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000," Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau. "Selected Economic Characteristics: 2005" Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
  11. American Community Survey, 2008 Estimates, Custom Data Table.
  12. American Community Survey, 2008 Estimates, Custom Data Table.
  13. "Highway Hold-ups: How Road Building Creates Congestion and Wastes Tax Dollars," PennEnvironment, August 2001.
  14. Report Card for America's Infrastructure, Accessed July 22, 2010 (2009 Data).
  15. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, "Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory."
  16. Ryan Robinson, "A Limited Success," Lancaster New Era, December 9, 2002. Ryan Robinson, "Growing Grades: Does your Township Pass or Fail?" Lancaster New Era, December 10, 2002.
  17. Don Hopey, "State Has No Plan to Save Nature," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 10, 2002.
  18. Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, "Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities," NumbersUSA, March 2001
  19. American Farmland Trust, "Farming on the Edge"
  20. "Southern Cities Rank High in Ozone Pollution," Associated Press, April 30, 2001.
  21. Josef Hebert, "California Smoggiest," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 30, 2002.
  22. American Lung Association, "State of the Air 2010."
  23. Migration Information Source State Data (Migration Policy Institute)
  24. Urban Institute, Children of Immigrants Data Tool.
  25. 25-6"Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
    "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007
  26. Ibid.
  27. Eric Eisert, "New High School Eases Crowding," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 2, 2002.
  28. Genevieve Marshall, "Huge Influx of Kids' Jams Saucon Valley Campus," Morning Call, November 26, 2001.
  29. Carrie Caldwell, "Consultant Confirms Overcrowding in CV Schools," Intelligencer Journal, January 18, 2002.
  30. Jonathan Barnes, "Parents Bring Overcrowding Complaint to Board," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 19, 2002.
  31. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.

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