County outline
Where Northampton County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 98% of Northampton County’s measured area and water for 2%. Its combined area converts to 976.8 square kilometers or approximately 241,373 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 369.787 | 957.744 | 236,663.7 |
| Water | 7.359 | 19.06 | 4,709.8 |
| Total | 377.146 | 976.804 | 241,373.4 |
How Northampton County compares
By original Census land area, Northampton County ranks #59 of 67 in Pennsylvania and #2631 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.566 times the Pennsylvania county-equivalent median of 653.3 square miles. It accounts for 0.8% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Pennsylvania ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Northampton County
The Census Bureau estimates that 324,411 people lived in Northampton County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #231 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #13 of 67 in Pennsylvania. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 312,951, the population has grown by 11,460 (+3.7%), compared with +0.4% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
With 369.8 square miles of land, that is 877 people per square mile (339 per km²), placing Northampton County #207 nationally for density and #7 in Pennsylvania. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Pennsylvania median is 137. Put another way, there are about 0.73 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 312,809 | 318,234 | 318,123 | 320,993 | 323,085 | 324,411 |
| Change | — | +5,425 | −111 | +2,870 | +2,092 | +1,326 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Northampton County
Northampton County is divided into 38 municipalities and townships. In Pennsylvania, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Bethlehem city, with 59,370 residents (18.3% of the county). The largest by land is Upper Mount Bethel township, at 42.5 mi², or 11.5% of the county’s land. The county seat, Easton city, has 30,402 residents. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Wind Gap borough grew fastest since then (+28.7%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem city | 59,370 | +6% | 14.8 | 4% |
| Easton cityCounty seat | 30,402 | +8.2% | 4.263 | 1.2% |
| Bethlehem township | 26,769 | +3.5% | 14.4 | 3.9% |
| Palmer township | 22,721 | +1.9% | 10.3 | 2.8% |
| Forks township | 16,879 | +4.9% | 12.1 | 3.3% |
| Hanover township | 11,702 | −0.7% | 6.553 | 1.8% |
| Lower Saucon township | 11,134 | +0.3% | 24.3 | 6.6% |
| Lehigh township | 10,936 | +1.5% | 29.3 | 7.9% |
| Northampton borough | 10,570 | +1.8% | 2.471 | 0.7% |
| Moore township | 9,508 | +1.9% | 37.2 | 10.1% |
| Bushkill township | 8,739 | +3% | 25 | 6.7% |
| Upper Nazareth township | 8,521 | +4.9% | 7.287 | 2% |
| Wilson borough | 8,159 | −1.2% | 1.155 | 0.3% |
| Lower Nazareth township | 7,187 | +3.9% | 13.5 | 3.6% |
| Williams township | 6,699 | +1.9% | 18.2 | 4.9% |
Show the other 23 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Mount Bethel township | 6,463 | +0.3% | 42.5 |
| Plainfield township | 6,315 | +0.7% | 24.7 |
| Hellertown borough | 6,138 | +0.1% | 1.312 |
| Nazareth borough | 6,091 | +0.5% | 1.609 |
| Allen township | 5,693 | +4.2% | 10.8 |
| East Allen township | 5,472 | +9.2% | 14.6 |
| Washington township | 5,222 | +1.3% | 17.8 |
| Bangor borough | 5,118 | −0.7% | 1.492 |
| Wind Gap borough | 3,630 | +28.7% | 1.339 |
| Pen Argyl borough | 3,468 | −1.1% | 1.342 |
| North Catasauqua borough | 3,229 | +8.5% | 0.718 |
| Freemansburg borough | 3,003 | +4.5% | 0.697 |
| Lower Mount Bethel township | 2,923 | +0.1% | 23.8 |
| Bath borough | 2,903 | +2.8% | 0.903 |
| Walnutport borough | 2,097 | +1.5% | 0.752 |
| Roseto borough | 1,603 | −1.2% | 0.629 |
| Tatamy borough | 1,389 | +17.6% | 0.574 |
| West Easton borough | 1,250 | +0.6% | 0.305 |
| East Bangor borough | 1,101 | −1% | 0.831 |
| Stockertown borough | 918 | −0.2% | 0.97 |
| Portland borough | 485 | −0.4% | 0.483 |
| Glendon borough | 383 | −1.3% | 0.615 |
| Chapman borough | 221 | +0.5% | 0.33 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Northampton County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Northampton County is a central county of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 4 county equivalents have 887,615 residents on 1,453 square miles of land; Northampton County accounts for 25.4% of the land and 36.5% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #227 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #70 by population. It belongs to the Allentown-Bethlehem-East Stroudsburg, PA-NJ Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Lehigh County | 384,383 | 345.3 |
| Northampton County | 324,411 | 369.8 |
| Warren CountyNew Jersey | 112,953 | 356.5 |
| Carbon County | 65,868 | 381.4 |
ZIP codes
26 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Northampton County; 22 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
1801318014180151801718018180201803218035180381804018042180451805518063180641806718072180771808318085180861808818091181091834318351
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Northampton County
Northampton County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents, including 1 in New Jersey. It has more land than 2 of them. The largest neighbor is Monroe County (608.4 mi²) and the smallest is Lehigh County (345.3 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Northampton County forms a block of 2,665.8 mi² of land, of which it holds 13.9%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Northampton | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County | 608.4 | 1.6× larger | Compare |
| Bucks County | 604.4 | 1.6× larger | Compare |
| Carbon County | 381.4 | about the same | Compare |
| Warren CountyNew Jersey | 356.5 | about the same | Compare |
| Lehigh County | 345.3 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
How big is Northampton County compared with U.S. states?
Northampton County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.8 times as much. Pennsylvania’s county land could hold about 121 areas the size of Northampton County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 19.2 miles (30.9 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Northampton County?
Northampton County has more land than 591 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Northampton County at #2,666 nationally by total area, 35 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 2%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.8 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Northampton County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2630 | Rabun County, Georgia | 370.1 | Compare |
| #2631 | Northampton County, Pennsylvania | 369.8 | This county |
| #2632 | Jersey County, Illinois | 369.6 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 40.752791, -75.307447. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 957,743,868 m²; AWATER: 19,060,216 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Northampton County?
Northampton County, Pennsylvania has 369.8 square miles (957.7 km²) of land and 7.359 square miles of water, for a total area of 377.1 square miles. It ranks #2631 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Northampton County the largest county in Pennsylvania?
No. Northampton County ranks #59 of 67 in Pennsylvania by land area. The largest is Lycoming County, with 1,228.9 square miles of land.
What counties border Northampton County?
Northampton County shares a land border with Warren County, New Jersey, Lehigh County, Monroe County, Bucks County, and Carbon County.
What is the population of Northampton County?
The Census Bureau estimates Northampton County had 324,411 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #231 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 877 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Northampton County?
The county seat of Northampton County is Easton.
What cities and towns are in Northampton County?
Northampton County has 38 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Bethlehem city, Easton city, Bethlehem township, Palmer township, and Forks township.
Is Northampton County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 4 county equivalents and 887,615 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Northampton County?
26 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Northampton County, and 22 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Northampton County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.8 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Northampton County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 236,664 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 241,373 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.