Ham radio operators in Pennsylvania: new licenses by county
23,751 licensed amateur radio operators; 785 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.
At a glance · Data as of
- New hams · last 30 days
- 56
- New hams · last 12 months
- 785
- ▲ 4% vs prior 12 mo
- Active licensed hams
- 23,751
- Upgrades · 12 mo
- 387
- Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
- 165
- Address updates · 12 mo
- 356
- Often a move into the area
- Expiring · next 6 mo
- 1,356
About ham radio in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania added 785 new amateur radio operators in the past 12 months, about the same as the year before (up 4%). Pennsylvania ranks #7 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Allegheny County leads the state with 89 new hams. Among larger counties, York County is growing fastest. Technicians make up 43% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, pointing to an experienced, HF-heavy community.
New hams by month
Show data table
| Month | New hams |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | 62 |
| Dec 2025 | 65 |
| Jan 2026 | 62 |
| Feb 2026 | 58 |
| Mar 2026 | 120 |
| Apr 2026 | 56 |
| May 2026 | 120 |
| Jun 2026 | 65 |
| Jul 2026 | 59 |
| Aug 2026 | 52 |
| Sep 2026 | 66 |
| Total | 787 |
License classes
| Class | Hams | Share | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technician | 10,240 | 43% | 48% |
| General | 6,141 | 26% | 25% |
| Amateur Extra | 5,711 | 24% | 21% |
| Advanced | 1,068 | 5% | 3% |
| Novice / Other | 591 | 3% | 2% |
Bar = Pennsylvania share · Tick = U.S. share
In the past 12 months, 145 operators upgraded to General and 204 to Amateur Extra.
How Pennsylvania compares
#7 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months
| Per 1,000 active hams | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| New hams, past 12 months | 33.1 | 32.3 |
| Upgrades, past 12 months | 16.3 | 14.7 |
| Expiring, next 6 months | 57.1 | 57.3 |
785 new hams in Pennsylvania this past year. Get next month’s list free.
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| # | County | New hams 12 mo | Change vs prior year | Active hams | New per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allegheny County | 89 | ▲ 3% | 2,115 | 42.1 |
| 2 | Cumberland County | 60 | ▲ 62% | 660 | 90.9 |
| 3 | Montgomery County | 47 | ▼ 23% | 1,453 | 32.3 |
| 4 | Philadelphia County | 45 | ▼ 6% | 747 | 60.2 |
| 5 | York County | 44 | ▲ 83% | 1,122 | 39.2 |
| 6 | Chester County | 34 | ▲ 36% | 1,066 | 31.9 |
| 7 | Lancaster County | 31 | ▼ 3% | 1,212 | 25.6 |
| 8 | Berks County | 26 | ▲ 63% | 765 | 34.0 |
| 9 | Bucks County | 25 | ▼ 29% | 1,263 | 19.8 |
| 10 | Northampton County | 25 | ▲ 14% | 657 | 38.1 |
All Pennsylvania counties
49 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.
- Adams County7 new hams in 12 months
- Allegheny County89 new hams in 12 months
- Armstrong County3 new hams in 12 months
- Beaver County9 new hams in 12 months
- Berks County26 new hams in 12 months
- Blair County11 new hams in 12 months
- Bradford County2 new hams in 12 months
- Bucks County25 new hams in 12 months
- Butler County16 new hams in 12 months
- Cambria County6 new hams in 12 months
- Carbon County8 new hams in 12 months
- Centre County9 new hams in 12 months
- Chester County34 new hams in 12 months
- Clearfield County1 new hams in 12 months
- Columbia County1 new hams in 12 months
- Crawford County3 new hams in 12 months
- Cumberland County60 new hams in 12 months
- Dauphin County16 new hams in 12 months
- Delaware County17 new hams in 12 months
- Erie County21 new hams in 12 months
- Fayette County7 new hams in 12 months
- Franklin County4 new hams in 12 months
- Indiana County1 new hams in 12 months
- Lackawanna County14 new hams in 12 months
- Lancaster County31 new hams in 12 months
- Lawrence County1 new hams in 12 months
- Lebanon County9 new hams in 12 months
- Lehigh County16 new hams in 12 months
- Luzerne County18 new hams in 12 months
- Lycoming County6 new hams in 12 months
- Mercer County6 new hams in 12 months
- Monroe County5 new hams in 12 months
- Montgomery County47 new hams in 12 months
- Northampton County25 new hams in 12 months
- Northumberland County5 new hams in 12 months
- Philadelphia County45 new hams in 12 months
- Pike County2 new hams in 12 months
- Schuylkill County5 new hams in 12 months
- Snyder County1 new hams in 12 months
- Somerset County4 new hams in 12 months
- Susquehanna County2 new hams in 12 months
- Tioga County7 new hams in 12 months
- Union County3 new hams in 12 months
- Venango County3 new hams in 12 months
- Warren County0 new hams in 12 months
- Washington County12 new hams in 12 months
- Wayne County5 new hams in 12 months
- Westmoreland County23 new hams in 12 months
- York County44 new hams in 12 months
Smaller Pennsylvania counties
These 18 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.
| County | Active hams | New hams · 12 mo |
|---|---|---|
| Bedford County | 115 | 0 |
| Cameron County | 13 | 0 |
| Clarion County | 85 | 0 |
| Clinton County | 47 | 1 |
| Elk County | 70 | 2 |
| Forest County | 13 | 0 |
| Fulton County | 21 | 1 |
| Greene County | 79 | 1 |
| Huntingdon County | 73 | 0 |
| Jefferson County | 100 | 1 |
| Juniata County | 38 | 0 |
| McKean County | 128 | 0 |
| Mifflin County | 73 | 2 |
| Montour County | 55 | 4 |
| Perry County | 133 | 1 |
| Potter County | 52 | 1 |
| Sullivan County | 22 | 0 |
| Wyoming County | 71 | 4 |
Neighboring states
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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).
Questions about hams in Pennsylvania
How many ham radio operators are in Pennsylvania?
23,751 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Pennsylvania as of Oct 1, 2026.
How many new hams were licensed in Pennsylvania last year?
785 people in Pennsylvania received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.
Which Pennsylvania counties have the most new hams?
In the past 12 months: Allegheny County (89), Cumberland County (60) and Montgomery County (47).
Where does this data come from?
From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.
Can I see the names or call signs on this page?
No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.
About this data
Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.
How we count
- New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
- Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
- Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
- Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
- PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.
100% of Pennsylvania licensees could be matched to a county.