Bangor is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
History
The borough was settled about 1760 and first incorporated in 1875. The founder and first Chief Burgess of Bangor was Robert M. Jones, an emigrant from Bangor, Wales. He was the prime mover in the establishment of the slate industry in Northampton County. Slate quarries pepper the area, but only a few are still functioning. A life-sized statue of him, dedicated on September 24, 1914, remains in the town center.[5] The influence of Bangor, Wales is visible in the stone walls, square gardens, flowers, and greenery that mirror those of its Welsh namesake. Also like Bangor, Wales, Bangor, Pennsylvania has piles of slate residue and shale reminiscent of the area.[6]
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 5,319 people, 2,105 households, and 1,420 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,453.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,333.4/km2). There were 2,249 housing units at an average density of 1,460.2 per square mile (563.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.9% White, 0.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population.
There were 2,105 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no male householder present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the borough, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $36,382, and the median income for a family was $44,954. Males had a median income of $36,972 versus $21,414 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,742. About 8.5% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
The borough is served by the Bangor Area School District. The district has one high school, Bangor Area High School, for grades nine through 12, one middle school, and three elementary schools: Five Points Elementary School, Washington Elementary School, and Domenick DeFranco Elementary. Five Points Elementary hosts kindergarten through second grade. Washington Elementary contains third and fourth grade, while Domenick DeFranco Elementary contains grades five and six.
As of 2016, there were 21.18 miles (34.09 km) of public roads in Bangor, of which 6.56 miles (10.56 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 14.62 miles (23.53 km) were maintained by the borough.[12]
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