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Welcome to Shippensburg ...

Shippensburg is primarily located in Cumberland County<1>. A portion of Shippensburg extends into Franklin County.



Google driving directions from your current location to Shippensburg (Patience, this may take a moment).

The location of Shippensburg has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (the GNIS).<2>


While we don't have a date for the founding of Shippensburg, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1803.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Shippensburg has a population of 5,690 people<3> (see below for details).

Shippensburg is 680 feet [207 m] above sea level.<4>.

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

Area Codes for Shippensburg: 717 & 223<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Shippensburg had an population of 5,690 people. This is an increase of 3.61% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 1.86% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Shippensburg had a population of 5,492 people. This makes Shippensburg the county's 5th most populous community.

The population of Shippensburg represents 0.04% of the population of Pennsylvania (which has 12,702,379 people), making it the state's 172nd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 5,492 people, the population of Shippensburg decreased 1.68% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 5,586 people).

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

Websites for Shippensburg ...

Official Website: www.borough.shippensburg.pa.us/

Communities near Shippensburg ...

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

  • Chambersburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Carlisle
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Holly Springs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly Springs
    • Mount Holly Springs is located in Cumberland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,052 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Holly Springs <6>
  • Mont Alto
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mont Alto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Alto
    • Mont Alto is located in Franklin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,729 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mont Alto <6>
  • Newville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Biglerville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Arendtsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Bendersville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Fairfield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Newburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
    • Newburg is located in Cumberland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newburg <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 Shippensburg. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Shippensburg.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Shippensburg. 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 Shippensburg.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Shippensburg. Our list includes 13 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Shippensburg.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Shippensburg ...

Looking for more information about Shippensburg? 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 Shippensburg, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Shippensburg.

Adding Shippensburg to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Shippensburg 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 Shippensburg was in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).

We also found Shippensburg in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Shippensburg.

The official website for Shippensburg: www.borough.shippensburg.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 Cumberland, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>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.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Shippensburg.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Shippensburg - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>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 717 code has been Overlayed with the 223 area code. New phone numbers in the Shippensburg area will be assigned with one of these codes: 717 or 223. As a result, placing a call in the Shippensburg area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 19 Feb 2025