267,750 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.1% since 2020)
799 square miles of land · 335 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
41 active community water systems list Erie County in the area they serve, reporting 292,906 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ERIE CITY WATER AUTHORITY surface water · local government · PA6250028 | 220,001 served |
| SUMMIT TOWNSHIP WATER AUTHORIT buys surface water · local government · PA6250090 | 12,500 served |
| MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY OF CORRY groundwater · local government · PA6250012 | 7,800 served |
| EDINBORO WATER AUTHORITY groundwater · local government · PA6250022 | 7,800 served |
| NORTH EAST TOWNSHIP WATER buys surface water · local government · PA6250086 | 5,848 served |
| ALBION BOROUGH groundwater · local government · PA6250007 | 5,842 served |
| NORTH EAST BOROUGH WATER DEPT surface water · local government · PA6250061 | 4,601 served |
| FAIRVIEW TWP WATER DISTRICT 1 buys surface water · local government · PA6250087 | 4,500 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 671 people were held in Erie County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 398 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 573.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
13 school districts have their office in Erie County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $280.3 million — $218.8 million to run schools, about $21,659 per student, plus $48.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $72 million local (mostly property tax), $166.5 million state, $54.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $119.2 million.
Spent $144 million — $103.5 million to run schools, about $16,144 per student, plus $32.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $79.6 million local (mostly property tax), $36.7 million state, $11 million federal. Long-term debt: $122.5 million.
Spent $41.8 million — $35.1 million to run schools, about $16,655 per student, plus $4.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $17.6 million local (mostly property tax), $18.9 million state, $4.8 million federal.
Spent $45.3 million — $32.7 million to run schools, about $15,744 per student, plus $10.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $22.4 million local (mostly property tax), $17.5 million state, $2 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.7 million.
Spent $38.3 million — $34 million to run schools, about $17,122 per student, plus $2.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.7 million local (mostly property tax), $15.7 million state, $3.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.3 million.
Spent $53.6 million — $26.5 million to run schools, about $14,112 per student, plus $22.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $24.2 million local (mostly property tax), $9.4 million state, $914,000 federal. Long-term debt: $59.2 million.
Spent $47.2 million — $35.5 million to run schools, about $18,973 per student, plus $9.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10.8 million local (mostly property tax), $25.9 million state, $7.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.2 million.
Spent $38.7 million — $27.5 million to run schools, about $17,791 per student, plus $8.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $12.1 million local (mostly property tax), $17.8 million state, $5.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $32.7 million.
And 5 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Erie County about $47.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
444 bridges in Erie County: 167 in good condition, 235 fair, and 42 poor (9.5%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR 90 EB over OVER T-666 ROHL ROAD · built 1959 | 16,574 vehicles a day |
| SR 90 EB over OVER CSX RAILROAD · built 1959 | 11,394 vehicles a day |
| SR 90 EB & RAMP over SR 20 EB/WB E MAIN · built 1959 | 9,349 vehicles a day |
| SR 90 WB over OVER SR 20 E/WB E MAIN · built 1959 | 9,035 vehicles a day |
| SR 505 PERRY HWY over OVER MILL CREEK · built 1952 | 7,782 vehicles a day |
| SR 5 EAST LAKE RD. over OVER SIX MILE CREEK · built 1933 | 6,635 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $102.8 million of work in Erie County in fiscal 2025, about $380 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Pennsylvania are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Erie County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Erie County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Pennsylvania: the state government and every county in Pennsylvania.
Nearby counties: Crawford County (30 mi) · Ashtabula County, OH (36 mi) · Chautauqua County, NY (38 mi) · Warren County (45 mi) · Venango County (52 mi) · Mercer County (57 mi).