Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Salisbury Township Office.
|Elevation||354 ft (107.9 m)|
|Area||11.1 sq mi (28.7 km2)|
|- land||11.0 sq mi (28 km2)|
|- water||0.1 sq mi (0 km2), 0.9%|
|Density||1,224.9 / sq mi (472.9 / km2)|
|- summer (DST)||EDT (UTC-4)|
Salisbury Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The township borders Allentown (the third largest municipality in Pennsylvania,) Bethlehem, and Emmaus, in the Lehigh Valley region.
The population of Salisbury Township was 13,498 at the 2000 census.
The township is home of the South Mall.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 11.1 square miles (28.9 km2), of which, 11.0 square miles (28.5 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2) of it (1.08%) is water. It is drained by the Lehigh River, which separates it from Bethlehem and the east side of Allentown, and its border with Upper Saucon is on Lehigh Mountain. Elevations range from approximately 300 feet on the river to at least 1,000 feet in Big Rock County Park.
Emmaus and Allentown share a border, separating Salisbury into two demographically-distinct non-contiguous portions. The township's villages of Farmington, Gauff Hill, and Summit Lawn (also in Upper Saucon Township) are in the eastern portion. The CDP of Dorneyville is in the extreme NW of the township and in South Whitehall. Salisbury's major thoroughfares include Interstate 78/Route 309, Route 145, Emmaus Avenue, Susquehanna Street/Broadway, Lehigh Street, 24th Street, and Cedar Crest Boulevard.
- Fountain Hill (northeast)
- Bethlehem (northeast)
- Allentown (north and northwest)
- South Whitehall Township (west)
- Lower Macungie Township (southwest)
- Emmaus (south)
- Upper Milford Township (south)
- Upper Saucon Township (southeast)
- Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County (east)
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,498 people, 5,138 households, and 3,868 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,224.9 people per square mile (472.9/km2). There were 5,281 housing units at an average density of 479.2 per square mile (185.0/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 95.41% White, 1.51% African American, 0.04% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.14% of the population.
There were 5,138 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the township the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $52,935, and the median income for a family was $62,534. Males had a median income of $44,071 versus $27,746 for females. The per capita income for the township was $28,073. About 1.7% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Politics and government
Elected township officials
Salisbury Township has a home-rule charter and elects five commissioners by ward. The ward numbers increase east to west.
Board of Commissioners:
- Robert Martucci, Vice President, Ward 1
- James Seagreaves, Ward 2
- Norma Cusick, Ward 3
- James Brown, President, Ward 4
- Joanne Ackerman, Ward 5
- Linda Minger
- US Representative Charlie Dent, Republican, 15th district
- State Senator Rob Wonderling, Republican, 24th district
- State Representative Joseph F. Brennan, Democrat, 133rd district, Ward 1
- State Representative Justin Simmons, Republican, 131st district, Wards 2-4
- State Representative Doug Reichley, Republican, 134th district, Ward 5
- "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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