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Renting an Apartment in Abington
What You Should Know
Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United
States. The population was 56,103 at the 2000 census.
Abington Township is one of Montgomery County’s oldest communities dating back
to before 1700 and being incorporated in 1704. It is home to some of the
county’s oldest transportation routes, industries and churches. Many of these
older business and transportation centers were the forerunners of modern
Abington. Today, Abington Township is a highly desirable residential area that
contains a major shopping center, several small businesses, and a few of
Montgomery County's largest employers.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of
40.0 km˛ (15.5 mi˛). 40.0 km˛ (15.4 mi˛) of it is land and none of the area is
covered with water.
Demographics
As of the census˛ of 2000, there were 56,103 people, 21,690 households, and
15,139 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,402.0/km˛
(3,630.3/mi˛). The racial makeup of the township was 84.12% Whites, 10.82%
Blacks, 0.09% Native American, 3.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from
other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
were 1.57% of the population.
There were 21,690 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 57.4%
were married couples living together, and 30.2% were non-families. 25.9% of all
households were made up of individuals and 12.9% 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 3.10.
In the township the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18,
6.1% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females
there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3
males.
The median income for a household in the township was $59,921, and the median
income for a family was $70,959. Males had a median income of $47,408 versus
$36,572 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,331. About
2.0% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Abington Township does not have a mayor. Rather it is governed by a Board of
Commissioners, who are elected one from each of the township's fifteen wards. A
President of the Board is elected from among these commissioners, and serves as
the head of government for Abington Township. James Ring is the current
Commission President.
Most of the township is in the Thirteenth Congressional District (represented by
Rep. Allyson Schwartz) with a small part in the Eighth Congressional District
(represented by Rep. Patrick Murphy).
In 2004, Pennsylvanian political scientists Dr. G. Terry Madonna and Dr. Michael
Young identified Abington Township as an especially interesting political
bellwether—a local area "looked to for early readings of how national elections
will turn out."
Communities
Abington Township comprises sixteen "communities" as follow alphabetically:
Communities:
* Abington
* Ardsley
* Crestmont
* Elkins Park
* Glenside
* Hollywood
* Huntingdon Valley
* Meadowbrook
* Noble
* North Hills
* Roslyn
* Roychester
* Rydal
* Willow Grove
The communities are unofficial, unincorporated subdivisions of the township,
corresponding roughly to voting districts and elementary school placement. Their
primary importance aside from community identity is the postal system (e.g., to
send a letter to someone living in the Glenside community, you would address the
letter to Glenside, Pennsylvania rather than Abington Township, Pennsylvania).
Additionally, some portions of some of these subdivisions, including Glenside
and Elkins Park, are actually in neighbooring townships.
Schools
Abington is served by the Abington School District. The elementary schools in
this township are:
* Copper Beech Elementary
* Highland Elementary
* McKinley Elementary
* Overlook Elementary
* Roslyn Elementary
* Rydal Elementary
* Willow Hill Elementary
The middle school (grades 7-9) is Abington Junior High School and the senior
high (grades 10-12) is Abington Senior High School.
There are also several private schools located inside the township, such as
Meadowbrook and Abington Friends School. Penn State’s Abington campus is located
in the township as well.
The school district received some notoriety in the 1960s when it became one of
the key parties in the school prayer controversy, with Abington School District
v. Schempp. The Supreme Court case resulted in a declaration of the
unconstitutionality of school-sanctioned Bible reading.
Services infrastructure
Abington Memorial Hospital is located in the community of Abington.
Alverthorpe Park is located in the community of Abington.
Abington Art Center is a contemporary art museum located in Abington.