Gratz, Pennsylvania

Gratz was named after the founder Simon Gratz.

Gratz is located in northeastern Dauphin County at 40°36′35″N 76°43′04″W.[4] It sits along the northern base of Short Mountain, a western extension of Bear Mountain, part of the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains. Pennsylvania Route 25 passes through the borough, leading east 18 miles (29 km) to Interstate 81 and west 14 miles (23 km) to Millersburg on the Susquehanna River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.6 km²), all of it land.[3]

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 676 people, 301 households, and 194 families residing in the borough. The population density was 225.2 people per square mile (87.0/km²). There were 331 housing units at an average density of 110.3 per square mile (42.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.56% White, 0.30% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.

There were 301 households, out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $32,917, and the median income for a family was $46,063. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $21,500 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,837. About 8.6% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.

• Carl Scheib, Major League Baseball pitcher