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Welcome to Portage ...

Portage is located in Cambria County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Portage, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1842.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Portage has a population of 2,380 people<2> (see below for details).

Portage is 1,790 feet [546 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Portage lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Portage: 814 & 582<4>

The ZIP code for Portage: 15946<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Portage had an population of 2,380 people. This is a decrease of 9.78% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 16.11% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Portage had a population of 2,638 people. This makes Portage the county's 6th most populous community.

The population of Portage represents 0.02% of the population of Pennsylvania (which has 12,702,379 people), making it the state's 354th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 2,638 people, the population of Portage decreased 7.01% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 2,837 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Portage.

Communities Also Named Portage ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 22 communities that are also named Portage - they are located in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana (2), Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Brunswick, New York (2), Nova Scotia, Ohio, Prince Edward Island, Utah, Washington (2) and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Portage.

Communities near Portage ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Portage.

  • Altoona
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnstown
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Hollidaysburg
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Westmont
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westmont have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
    • Westmont is located in Cambria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
  • Windber
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Northern Cambria
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northern Cambria have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
    • Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
  • Ebensburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Barnesboro
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesboro have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
    • Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
  • Nanty Glo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Roaring Spring
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Spring
    • Roaring Spring is located in Blair County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,399 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roaring Spring <6>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Portage. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Portage.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Portage. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portage.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Portage. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Portage.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Portage ...

Looking for more information about Portage? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Portage, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Portage.

Adding Portage to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Portage in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Portage was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

X2X - From that list, the Portage post office opened in 1842.

We also found Portage in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Portage.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portage. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Cambria County: www.co.cambria.pa.us/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties, including Cambria, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Portage.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Portage - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 814 code has been Overlayed with the 582 area code. New phone numbers in the Portage area will be assigned with one of these codes: 814 or 582. As a result, placing a call in the Portage area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Portage). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Portage or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025