Clarion, Pennsylvania

Clarion is a borough in and the county seat of Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 77 mi north-northeast of Pittsburgh and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the surrounding area produced natural gas, oil, lumber and coal. The population was 2,004 in 1900, 2,864 in 1910, and 3,931 at the 2020 census, down from 5,276 at the 2010 census. It is home to the annual Autumn Leaf Festival and PennWest Clarion. The county courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Clarion County's designated tourism agency is Discover Clarion County.

Geography
Clarion is located slightly northeast of the center of Clarion County at 41.21167°N, -79.38389°W (41.211791, -79.384005), in the Allegheny Plateau region of western Pennsylvania. The main part of the borough sits at an elevation of 1400 to 1500 ft above sea level, overlooking the 400 ft valley of the Clarion River, a tributary of the Allegheny River.

U.S. Route 322 passes through the borough as Main Street, leading northwest 28 mi to Franklin and southeast 16 mi to Brookville. Pennsylvania Route 68 (Fifth Avenue) leads south from the center of Clarion, 2 mi to Exit 62 of Interstate 80 and 11 mi to Sligo.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.19 km2, of which 4.08 km2 is land and 0.11 km2, or 2.70%, is water.

Climate
Clarion has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with warm summers and cold to very cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is highest in the summer months, with an annual average of 46.55 in. Snow usually falls between October and April.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,185 people, 2,000 households, and 718 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,142.8 PD/sqmi. There were 2,192 housing units at an average density of 1,468.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 94.55% White, 3.48% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.



There were 2,000 households, out of which 15.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.1% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.75. versus $20,214 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $10,832. About 18.8% of families and 41.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Borough council
Clarion is governed by an elected, seven-member borough council. Current council members include President Carol Lapinto, Vice President Benjamin Aaron, President Pro Tem Rachel Roberts, Brenda Sanders Dede, Andy Montana, Zachary Garbarino, and Patty Schmader. Jennifer Fulmer Vinson is the Mayor.

Education
Clarion is the site of the campus of Penn West Clarion, a public university and the second-largest university in Western Pennsylvania.

Notable people

 * Kurt Angle, American Olympic Gold Medalist - Clarion University graduate heavyweight wrestler
 * Clara Rankin Coblentz, social reformer
 * Emmet Heidrick, baseball player
 * Chris Kirkpatrick, NSYNC singer
 * Ernest M. Skinner, pipe organ builder