Bethlehem, PA

Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781, making it the eighth largest city in Pennsylvania. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19,343 were in Lehigh County. The city is located along the Lehigh River, a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the Delaware River.

Bethlehem lies in the center of the Lehigh Valley, a metropolitan region of 731 sq mi (1,890 km) with a population of 861,899 people as of the 2020 census, making it Pennsylvania’s third most populous metropolitan area and the 68th most populated metropolitan area in the U.S. Smaller than Allentown but larger than Easton, Bethlehem is the Lehigh Valley’s second most populous city.

There are four sections to the city: central Bethlehem, the south side, the east side, and the west side. Each of these sections blossomed at different times in the city’s development and each contains areas recognized under the National Register of Historic Places. ZIP codes that use the address Bethlehem totaled 116,000 in population in 2000. These ZIP Codes include Bethlehem Township and Hanover Township.

Norfolk Southern Railway’s Lehigh Line (formerly the main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad) runs through Bethlehem heading east to Easton and across the Delaware River to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The Norfolk Southern Railway’s Reading Line runs through Bethlehem and west to Allentown and Reading.