Gettysburg is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Gettysburg to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Gettysburg spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.96 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the borough are less than they would otherwise be.
The education level of Gettysburg ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Gettysburg, 41.28% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.
The per capita income in Gettysburg in 2018 was $29,948, which is lower middle income relative to Pennsylvania, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $119,792 for a family of four. However, Gettysburg contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Gettysburg is a very ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Gettysburg home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Gettysburg residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Gettysburg also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 16.31% of the borough’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Gettysburg include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Gettysburg is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
