In 1953, the Pennsylvania state government passed a law that established nine county subgroupings, called ‘classes’, for the purpose of legislating and regulating county affairs. These classes range from First to Eighth, with two types of Second class counties, where the most populated counties are grouped into the lower classes (i.e. First, Second, Third) and the least populated in the higher classes (i.e. Sixth, Seventh, Eighth). The counties that make up each class are determined by the population figures reported by the U.S. Census.

From a dashboard perspective, the county class is available as means of filtering statistics by this population-based category. When using this statistical filter on any dashboard, it is important to consider the counties that make up each class. Volume-related dashboard metrics will typically be higher for First and Second class counties since they have a proportionally higher number of cases than other counties. In addition, statistics represented by percentage for higher class counties, such as the Seventh or Eighth class, may be skewed since they handle far fewer cases and many of those could potentially fall under the same statistical categories.

The following represents the counties that make up each class, in alphabetical order, as determined by the U.S. Census:

Class

Population

Counties

First Class

1,500,000 or more

Philadelphia

Second Class

800,000 to 1,499,999

Allegheny

Second Class A

500,000 to 799,999

Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery

Third Class

210,000 to 499,999

Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, Westmoreland, York

Fourth Class

145,000 to 209,999

Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Centre, Fayette, Franklin, Monroe, Schuylkill, Washington

Fifth Class

90,000 to 144,999

Adams, Blair, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lycoming, Mercer, Northumberland

Sixth Class

45,000 to 89,999

Armstrong, Bedford, Bradford, Carbon, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Elk, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, McKean, Mifflin, Perry, Pike, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga, Venango, Warren, Wayne

Seventh Class

20,000 to 44,999

Juniata, Snyder, Union, Wyoming

Eighth Class

Less than 20,000

Cameron, Forest, Fulton, Montour, Potter, Sullivan