A picture of Erie from across Presque Isle Bay

Presque Isle State Park, known to locals as "the peninsula."

Erie is a city located in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 103,717. It e county seat of Erie County⁶.

As of 2004, the city's largest single employer is the railroad locomotive builder GE Transportation Systems. The plastics industry also employs a large number, but spread among a number of companies.

Geography

Erie is located at 42°6'52" North, 80°4'34" West (42.114507, -80.076213)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 72.5 km² (28.0 mi²). 56.9 km² (22.0 mi²) of it is land and 15.6 km² (6.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 21.54% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 103,717 people, 40,938 households, and 24,480 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,823.6/km² (4,722.9/mi²). There are 44,971 housing units at an average density of 790.7/km² (2,047.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 80.56% White, 14.20% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 4.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 40,938 households out of which 29.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% are married couples living together, 16.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% are non-families. 33.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 3.08.

In the city the population is spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $28,387, and the median income for a family is $36,446. Males have a median income of $30,714 versus $21,828 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,972. 18.8% of the population and 13.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.0% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Colleges and universities

• Edinboro University (Edinboro, Pa) (http://webs.edinboro.edu/home/)
• Gannon University (http://www.gannon.edu/)
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) (http://www.lecom.edu/)
• Mercyhurst College (http://www.mercyhurst.edu/)
• Penn State Erie, The Behrend College (http://www.pserie.psu.edu/)

Famous Erieites

• Bruce Baumgartner: world champion freestyle heavyweight wrestler, 13 World and Olympic medals (Edinboro, Pa)
• Fred Biletnikoff: Pro football wide receiver for which an award is named after
• Billy Blanks: inventor of Taebo
• Marc Brown: Author of the Arthur series of children's books
• Patrick Monahan: Grammy Award winning musician (lead singer of Train)
• Tom Ridge: first Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security and former Governor of Pennsylvania.
• Maria Sansone - Video Jockey for MtvU and part-time CBS Sports reporter
• Strong Vincent: Union military officer during the American Civil War
• Paul J. Weitz: pilot on Skylab-2, the first manned Skylab mission

External links

• City of Erie (http://www.cityoferiepa.com/)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=42.114507&longitude=-80.076213&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=42.114507&lon=-80.076213&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-80.076213&lat=42.114507&w=750&h=500)