German Population in Lehigh County, PA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The German population in Lehigh County, PA is officially recorded at 81,151, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of German ancestry. Among them, Allentown (11,869), Bethlehem (11,774), and Lower Macungie township (8,527) account for the largest shares. Interestingly, when adding up individual city estimates, the total surpasses the county-level figure - a difference that often arises from how city and county statistics are modeled separately. Below, we explore how German communities are distributed across Pennsylvania''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.

Top 5 cities with the largest German population in Lehigh County

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  • 1
    Allentown
    German population in Allentown is 11,869
    9.47% of Allentown population is German
  • 2
    Bethlehem
    German population in Bethlehem is 11,774
    15.28% of Bethlehem population is German
  • 3
    Lower Macungie township
    German population in Lower Macungie township is 8,527
    26.27% of Lower Macungie township population is German
  • 4
    Upper Macungie township
    German population in Upper Macungie township is 6,398
    23.61% of Upper Macungie township population is German
  • 5
    Whitehall township
    German population in Whitehall township is 6,045
    20.75% of Whitehall township population is German

Overview of German population in Lehigh County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Lehigh County with 81,151 German residents (21.6% of 375,408 total county population), placing the jurisdiction at the 96th percentile nationally among counties and 85th percentile within Pennsylvania for German population density, with demographic concentrations among the highest nationwide.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents Lehigh County's German demographic representation of 21.6%, corresponding to Pennsylvania's state average while exceeding the national average of 12.6%, placing the county at state demographic averages while above national concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Lehigh County with 81,151 German residents, representing 2.9% of Pennsylvania's total German population of 2.8 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Lehigh County's density of 235 German Americans per square mile exceeds Pennsylvania's average of 63.1 per square mile by three and three-quarters times, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for German demographic communities.
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25 Cities in Lehigh County Ranked by German Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm German populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Allentown, Bethlehem, Lower Macungie township, and Upper Macungie township. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 25 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Lehigh County, PA ranked by German population count
Rank by German Population
City
German Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Lehigh County German Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Allentown 11,869 9.47% 14.63%
2 Bethlehem 11,774 15.28% 14.51%
3 Lower Macungie township 8,527 26.27% 10.51%
4 Upper Macungie township 6,398 23.61% 7.88%
5 Whitehall township 6,045 20.75% 7.45%
6 South Whitehall township 5,744 27.13% 7.08%
7 Upper Saucon township 5,499 32.05% 6.78%
8 5,035 32.07% 6.20%
9 4,382 37.37% 5.40%
10 3,267 24.01% 4.03%
11 2,915 36.72% 3.59%
12 2,327 35.48% 2.87%
13 2,143 33.01% 2.64%
14 1,667 39.24% 2.05%
15 1,647 33.07% 2.03%
16 1,530 39.76% 1.89%
17 1,503 45.09% 1.85%
18 1,345 31.45% 1.66%
19 1,005 30.95% 1.24%
20 964 28.16% 1.19%
21 854 33.02% 1.05%
22 814 37.22% 1.00%
23 757 15.73% 0.93%
24 677 28.40% 0.83%
25 320 17.02% 0.39%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Lehigh County, PA by their German population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines German population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having German ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as German alone, while others identify as German along with another race (such as German and German).
  • We’ve used the “German alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the German population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as German alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as German .
  2. % of Total Lehigh County German Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. German population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small German populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported German population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where German populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.