Why is there such a sharp political divide between Chester and Lancaster Counties PA?

[ProgressiveModerate]

Chester County is often talked about as the wealthy favored quarter suburbs of Philly. Much of the County itself isn't actually all that dense, but at this point even areas further out lean pretty Dem. However, as soon as you enter Lancaster County which is similarly dense it pretty immediately becomes deep R. What's going on here?

[If my soul was made of stone]

1. natural dynamics of Chester being part of a major metropolitan area vs. Lancaster being mostly rural + the metropolitan area of a much smaller regional city
2. have you never heard the words "Pennsylvania Dutch" in your life?

[Roll Roons]

2. have you never heard the words "Pennsylvania Dutch" in your life?

TBF, there are definitely Pennsylvania Dutch influences in the more rural parts of ChesCo.

[cvparty]

2. have you never heard the words "Pennsylvania Dutch" in your life?

TBF, there are definitely Pennsylvania Dutch influences in the more rural parts of ChesCo.

it bleeds a little bit over the county line, but there's still a very dramatic increase once you enter lancaster

[King of Kensington]

Chester County

Irish  23.5%
German  23.2%
English/American  15.8%
Italian  15%

Lancaster County

German  37.2%
English/American  14.5%
Irish  10.3%
Italian  5.5%

[Boss_Rahm]

The divide you speak of used to be in the middle of Delco. Then it was in the middle of Chesco. Currently it's roughly at the edge of Chesco, and if trends continue it will start inching into Lancaster County.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

There's still some conservative rural areas in the southern half of Chester County. The most densely populated parts of the county have tended to be along a corridor in the central part.

(Wikimedia Commons)

[Smash255]

% with a Bachelor's Degree 25 or over

Lancaster County 27.3%
Chester County 53.0%

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

% with a Bachelor's Degree 25 or over

Lancaster County 27.3%
Chester County 53.0%

What was the percentage of bachers or over in Chester County ten years ago?

[King of Kensington]

Chester County

Irish  23.5%
German  23.2%
English/American  15.8%
Italian  15%

Lancaster County

German  37.2%
English/American  14.5%
Irish  10.3%
Italian  5.5%

And if anything these figures understate the difference.  In Chester County most of those with German ancestry I suspect are essentially WASPs, and not culturally Pennsylvania Dutch.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Chester County

Irish  23.5%
German  23.2%
English/American  15.8%
Italian  15%

Lancaster County

German  37.2%
English/American  14.5%
Irish  10.3%
Italian  5.5%

And if anything these figures understate the difference.  In Chester County most of those with German ancestry I suspect are essentially WASPs, and not culturally Pennsylvania Dutch.

Good point.

[VPH]

% with a Bachelor's Degree 25 or over

Lancaster County 27.3%
Chester County 53.0%

Yeah, Chester County is more Philadelphia suburbs and exurbs than Lancaster. And it draws wealthier suburbanites while Lancaster is more working-class.

Although I do know people who commute from Lancaster to Philadelphia...

[Sol]

Chester County also has demographic patterns which are somewhat conditioned by the historic Pennsylvania Main Line--not just the towns commonly referred to as such, but also places like Downington, Coatesville, etc. These communities look a bit more like closer-in suburbs because they're older and in some cases industrial, and come close to the border with Lancaster, which makes it seem like a much more dramatic divide than it actually is. If you look at the southern (ignoring Lincoln U) and northern part of the county, the transition is more gradual.