About Harrisburg

Harrisburg ( HARR-iss-burg; Pennsylvania German: Harrisbarrig) is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099, it is the 9th most populous city in the Commonwealth (or 13th most populous area if including townships and boroughs). According to 2020 statistics provided by the Census Bureau, the population is 51.5% Black or African American, 34.8% White, 4.6% Asian, and 0.5% Native American while 4.1% identify as two or more races. Those identifying as Hispanic or Latino comprise 21.8%, while those identifying as White alone, not Hispanic or Latino comprise 24.1%. It lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, 107 miles (172 km) west of Philadelphia. Harrisburg is one of two anchor cities of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, which had a 2020 population of 591,712, making it the fourth most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania and 98th most populous in the United States. It is the largest city of the Harrisburg–York–Lebanon, PA Combined Statistical Area, also known as the Lower Susquehanna Valley region. Harrisburg played a notable role in American history during the Westward Migration, the American Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. During part of the 19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal, and later the Pennsylvania Railroad, allowed Harrisburg to become one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeastern United States. The U.S. Navy ship USS Harrisburg, which served from 1918 to 1919 at the end of World War I, was named in honor of the city.