About State College

Connected—Ask a cartographer...

And you'll be told that State College and Penn State's University Park campus are located within a 250-mile radius of the major nerve centers of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States—New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit and others. A network of flight paths, train tracks, bus routes and interstates will bring you from any of these locations to a destination near the geographic center of Pennsylvania.

Experts describe the weather in State College as moderate, generally not reaching extremes of temperature or precipitation, though there are those exceptional storms or the occasional cold snap or hot spell. Temperatures on a typical day in January will range from freezing to the low 20s (F), while late July temperatures range from the low 80s to the low 60s. Yearly average precipitation is 38 inches, including a total average snow accumulation of 45 inches.

The local community newspaper, The Centre Daily Times, circulates daily in State College and the surrounding Centre County region, providing news, editorials and other information of local, national and world interest. Learn more about our town by visiting StateCollege.com, a Web site that provides a full array of information about the town and community. Additional information can be found on CentreConnect.org, a Web site where local nonprofit organizations and government bodies are hosted. CentreCounty.org is another Web site where you can find information about the official business groups, public service agencies and government agencies in the Centre County region.

Vibrant—Ask an economist...

And you'll find that State College and Penn State's University Park campus are at the heart of one of the fastest growing regions in Pennsylvania. The Centre Region, consisting of the Borough of State College and surrounding townships, currently has a population of nearly 72,000 residents. The local industrial base is diversifying with high tech firms and a solid tradition of manufacturing and service companies. These manufacturing and service industries are also showing strong growth.

A number of corporations maintain offices or manufacturing plants within the community. The development of Penn State's Research Park—designed, in part, to stimulate research-based businesses and incubate high-tech startups—promises an additional impetus for growth. As a result, opportunities are available for spousal employment in local businesses and in non-academic positions at the university. However, because of the large number of well-educated men and women in the university community, finding employment commensurate with education and training can become competitive.

Nightspots abound along the streets of State College, offering everything from the sun-splashed sounds of the Caribbean to the quiet of a piano and vocalist. If you like a raucous sing-along with a banjo band, it's here. If you dance to alternative rock, it's here. And if you tap along with jazz, it's here. Eateries in the area can satisfy your taste for famed Philadelphia-style cheese steak sandwiches, Southwestern foods, Chinese, Italian, Indian and nouvelle or classic haute cuisine. Sidewalk coffee shops offer a chance for a quiet conversation over a cup of Guatemalan decaf or a sip of the latest vintage can be had at our local wineries.

Comfortable—Ask a Penn Stater...

And you'll be told that State College and Penn State's University Park campus are located in a place called "Happy Valley," though that name isn't listed on any maps. The community has both a high standard of living and a low crime rate. State College has been ranked by Psychology Today as one of the least stressful communities in the nation. Residents enjoy a high standard of living and the public schools have been cited for excellence. Children can play safely in any of the 28 parks and playgrounds open to residents of the Centre Region or they can swim in the two outdoor public pools as well as private and University-run pools.

Hikers enjoy the natural beauty of the region that can be surveyed from various mountain lookout points along the Appalachian Trail and other paths suggested in Tom Thwaites' Fifty Hikes in Central Pennsylvania. Just to the north is Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon and other natural sights, such as Penn's Cave, are close by. If American history is your interest, you may wish to visit Boalsburg (reputed to be the birthplace of Memorial Day), the restored iron-making village of Curtin or other sites in the region. Excellent facilities for swimming, boating, canoeing and camping are available at the many state parks, forests and lakes in the area. Stone Valley Recreation Center, operated by the University, has rental cabins, a picnic area and pavilion, and boat-rental facilities. Across the 72-acre lake is the Shavers Creek Environmental Center, featuring a facility for nursing injured birds of prey, exhibits and hiking paths.

The Centre Region is located in Pennsylvania's heartland where the ridge and valley section meets the Allegheny Front and a westward-stretching system of plateaus. On all sides are fields and hardwood forests, much of it regrowth from 19th century logging. Centre County waterways are stocked with trout, bass and other fish. Fisherman's Paradise, located ten miles from the campus, draws more than 30,000 anglers each year from around the nation. Anglers, brought by the spring fly hatches, may compete with fishers, otter-like mammals recently reintroduced to the area. Hunters are attracted to the area's game lands, which abound with deer, grouse, bear and wild turkey. A small wild elk herd now has a foothold in the woods north of the Susquehanna River.

Unique—Ask anyone who's visited...

And you'll be told that the State College-University Park community is one of those rare places in the United States that can offer you the intellectual and artistic energy of an internationally known university, while only a short walk away are quiet suburban streets and only a bike ride away are small communities with roots deep in history and the richness of American culture. It is an emerging city with a small-town feel, the resources of a 140-year-old institution of higher learning in a retreat-like setting, the traditions of Pennsylvania side-by-side with a lively culture strongly influenced by young people and citizens from around the globe.

Walk down one street in our bustling downtown and you may pass an African American woman from Los Angeles on her way to hear a lecture by a visiting scholar from Beijing University. Stop for a cup of coffee on a country drive and you may be served by a woman wearing a Mennonite bonnet and strike up a conversation with a man whose Scot-Irish ancestors settled these valleys over 200 years ago.

Traveling the region for a recent National Geographic article, writer Bill Luster described "...an Amish man, in dress hat and vest swirling down a country road on rollerblades." Luster found himself refreshed by the sight of the region's rolling mountains and baffled by the wariness of the game fish which inhabit the world-renowned streams here, one still frequented by former President Jimmy Carter. Traveling to the nearby town of Bellefonte, the writer enjoyed its "...Gothic churches, a Greek revival courthouse, the outrageously steep gables of the Brockerhoff Hotel and classic Georgian houses.... On a lustrous evening [he] attended a band concert at a park, where people listened in lawn chairs. [He] listened from a bridge over adjacent Spring Creek, tossing food pellets to giant trout, and [thought]—what a civilized place."

The Centre Region boasts such major activities as the midsummer Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, a five-day event annually attracting over 250,000 people with arts and crafts exhibits, a sidewalk art sale, children's programs, films, and performances in music, dance and theater. Headliners through the years have included internationally acclaimed artists. Neighboring communities sponsor similar events, such as Bellefonte's Victorian Christmas, Aaronsburg's Pennsylvania Dutch fall festival and the Centre County Grange Fair in Centre Hall.