Local Analysis – West Whiteland Township

According to the Comprehensive Plan for West Whiteland Township, West Whiteland Township occupies approximately 13 square miles of land in central Chester County, Pennsylvania and is located some 25 miles west of the City of Philadelphia. The township is traversed by the Great Valley which comprises a large part of the center of the township, framed by the North Valley Hills on the north and the South Valley Hills on the south. The township is bisected east-west by US Route 30 and north-to-south by PA Route 100. Since its founding, West Whiteland Township has been a rich farming area and until the 1950s, the economy of the township was dominated by agricultural activities. Beginning in the 1950s however, the township began to experience rapid urban development, first as a bedroom suburb and then more recently as a major focus of industrial, office and retail development. The commercial development, which primarily clustered around the intersection of Route 30 and Route 100, has spread westward along Route 30 and northward along Route 100.

Today, only about one-fourth of the land area of the township is undeveloped. The bulk of the undeveloped land consists of the extensive property of the Church Farm School, located mostly north of Route 30 in the northeastern quadrant of the township.”[1]

According to the American Community Survey Demographic Profile from the 2010 US Census, the total population of West Whiteland Township was 18,274 with 7,559 total housing units. This is an 11% population increase from the 2000 census population count of 16,499 with 6,748 housing units. Median household income per the 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, was $92,577. This is a dramatic 29% increase over reported median household income in 2000 of $71,545.

[1] “West Whiteland Township Comprehensive Plan 1994”, West Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors-1993-1994.