In the past, New Brighton had industries in pottery, bricks, sewer pipe, glass, flour, twine, lead kegs, refrigerators, bath tubs, wall paper, steel castings, nails, rivets, and wire.
Pennsylvania Routes 18 and 65 run through the center of the borough as Third Avenue. To the south, the concurrent highways run to Rochester on the Ohio River; to the north, PA-18 crosses the Beaver River into Beaver Falls, while PA-65 turns northeast and leads to Ellwood City.
According to the United States Census Bureau, New Brighton has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km2), of which 1.0 square mile (2.7 km2) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.2 km2), or 7.97%, is water.[7]
As of the 2010 census, there were 6,025 people, 2,434 households, and 1,550 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,450.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,490.4/km2). There were 2,615 housing units at an average density of 2,912.8 per square mile (1,124.6/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 84% White, 10.7% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.
There were 2,631 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.5% were married couples living together, 21.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40% were non-families. 36% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $25,932, and the median income for a family was $31,538. Males had a median income of $27,297 versus $21,618 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $13,475. About 15.3% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
