Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
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Lower Merion Township is a township located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and part of the Pennsylvania Main Line. As of the 2000 census, the township had a total population of 59,850.
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Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 61.8 km² (23.9 mi²). 61.4 km² (23.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.67% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 59,850 people, 22,868 households, and 15,024 families residing in the township. The population density is 975.4/km² (2,526.1/mi²). There are 23,699 housing units at an average density of 386.2/km² (1,000.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the township is 90.30% White, 4.50% African American, 0.08% Native American, 3.42% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. 1.60% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 22,868 households out of which 29.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% are married couples living together, 7.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% are non-families. 28.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.42 and the average family size is 2.99.
In the township the population is spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100 females there are 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township is $86,373, and the median income for a family is $115,694. Males have a median income of $77,692 versus $43,793 for females. The per capita income for the township is $55,526. 4.5% of the population and 1.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.8% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Communities
Lower Merion Township is the heart of the affluent Pennsylvania Main Line series of suburburban communities, named after the "Main Line" regional rail that runs through the township. Now known as the Paoli Local or the SEPTA R5 regional, the venerable rail line has station stops in Lower Merion at Merion, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Rosemont. Also serving the township, the SEPTA R6 line stops at Bala and Cynwyd (see Bala Cynwyd).
Other unincorporated communities in the township are Belmont Hills, General Wayne, Gladwyne, Penn Valley, Penn Wynne and Villanova.
History
Lower Merion Township was the site of the April 4, 1991 plane crash that killed Republican Senator John Heinz. The plane crash also took the lives of six others, including two first grade Merion Elementary students playing at recess.
Lower Merion is also home to the high school alma mater of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant,WWII general Henry Arnold, the current Librarian of Congress James Hadley Billington and current Harvard president Lawrence Summers.
Lower Merion is home to the oldest continuously used place of worship in the United States, the Merion Friends Meeting House, used continuously since 1695.
Ronald Reagan's first secretary of state, Alexander Haig, also hails from Lower Merion.