County's southern tier focus of growth
CRANBERRY TWP — Just four municipalities in Butler County provided 101% of the county's population growth in the past decade.
Adams, Cranberry, Forward and Jackson townships combined increased their populations by 10,049 residents, according to decennial figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau — more than the county's 9,901-resident net increase.
Gary Peaco, Adams township manager, said the continued growth in southern Butler County can be attributed to its location and amenities.
“The quality of life is very good, so people want to move here,” Peaco said.
Southern tier
Although those four municipalities alone grew more than Butler County as a whole over the past decade, other neighboring communities also grew.
Buffalo, Clinton, Lancaster and Middlesex townships' populations were up a total of 1,430 residents, while Harmony, Seven Fields and Zelienople had a modest, 184-resident increase.
Peaco said the trend in the southern tier is growth, but noted where that growth occurs changes year to year and decade to decade.
Although Adams Township's population grew 27% between 2010 and 2020, that wasn't exactly a breakneck pace for the community.
“That percentage is down from the previous census,” Peaco said. “From 2000 to 2010, we went from about 6,500 to 11,600, so there was about a 5,000-resident increase.”
While the pace of growth in Adams may have slowed, Peaco said that doesn't mean southern Butler County is seeing less growth as a whole. He pointed to growth in Jackson and Lancaster townships — which grew 34% and 8%, respectively — along Route 19 and Middlesex Township, with 27% residential growth, along Routes 8 and 228, as places where there is and will likely be additional growth in the future.
“I think our peak (growth) in Adams was (1997) to 2008,” he said. “I don't think we'll see a period where our growth was that strong. We're just running out of land that is developable.”
But slower growth isn't a bad thing, Peaco said.
“We want smart development,” he said. “We try to manage it, rather than stop it, but we want quality development. The law doesn't permit us to say 'no.' There's a lot of things that we don't like, but we're not allowed to deny it.”
Tom Smith, Seven Fields borough manager, added that population growth in nearby communities affects more than just the municipality experiencing the growth.
“As the other outlying communities grow, those residents will be coming into our community,” Smith said. “Whether they're coming into professional office spaces in Northpointe, our restaurants, our grocery store, we do get the benefits. There's no doubt about that.”
And, Smith said, much as how neighboring communities benefit from the growth, the area experiences growth partly as a result of its location in Pennsylvania.
“Southwestern Butler County is going to continue to grow because it's a desirable area,” he said. “The location and access points to the turnpike, to Interstate 79 and 80 (make it attractive). The whole area's just a desirable place where everybody wants to be.”
Other growth
Although the rest of the county in sum experienced a population loss, not every municipality in the center and northern parts of Butler County dropped in residents.
Slippery Rock Township, for instance, grew more than 21% compared to its 2010 population with a 1,192-resident increase in the past decade. East Butler had a more modest population change, rising 32 residents, or a 4% increase.
In the western-central area of the county, Connoquenessing grew by more than 200 residents, with the borough's population jumping by nearly 27% to 668 and the township's 93-resident increase bringing it to 4,236 residents.
Center Township's population change was the lowest in the county, growing by one resident.
