Pennsylvania
Buying Land in Perry County, Pennsylvania
County seat New Bloomfield. Perry County is one of Pennsylvania's most rural counties by character -- over 80% of residents live in unincorporated or township settings, agriculture is the leading industry, and the terrain itself, a genuine Appalachian ridge-and-valley landscape along the Susquehanna, drives real, practical differences in what a specific parcel can support.
A genuine Appalachian ridge-and-valley county along the Susquehanna
Perry County -- seat New Bloomfield -- had 45,842 residents at the 2020 Census across roughly 556 square miles of classic Appalachian ridge-and-valley terrain, bordered to the north, west, and south by the Tuscarora, Conococheague, and Blue Mountains, and running 28 miles along the Susquehanna River to the east. That geography supports a genuine mix of forested mountain land, fertile valley farmland, and river and creek drainages, and it underpins the county's rural character directly: over 80% of Perry County residents live in unincorporated areas or townships rather than boroughs, and agriculture is the county's leading industry.
For a land buyer, that combination of scale, terrain, and land use means Perry County is one of the more genuinely rural counties in this batch -- working farmland, forested ridge parcels, and river-valley land are all realistic categories of what's actually for sale here, in contrast to the built-out suburban or vacation-market character of some of this batch's other counties.
Zoning and county planning: coordination, not countywide control
The Perry County Planning Commission serves the county and its individual municipalities with a professional planning program aimed at managing growth in a coordinated, orderly way while preserving the county's rural and agricultural character -- but, consistent with the statewide default under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, zoning itself is not a county function. Perry County's townships (most of them second-class townships, governed by an elected Board of Supervisors, the standard rural-township structure under Pennsylvania law) and boroughs each decide independently whether to adopt zoning at all and, where they have, administer it themselves.
Given how rural Perry County is, and the well-documented statewide pattern that rural-county municipalities adopt zoning at roughly one-third the rate of urban-county ones, a buyer should treat "does this specific township even have zoning" as a genuine open question here rather than an assumption -- confirm directly with the township or borough office for any specific parcel.
Septic: valley soils and ridge soils behave differently
Perry County does not run its own county health department, so onlot sewage disposal permitting follows the standard statewide Act 537 process: a DEP-certified Sewage Enforcement Officer, serving the specific municipality, conducts or oversees soil probes and percolation testing and issues the permit. What's genuinely useful to know locally, though, is that Perry County's ridge-and-valley terrain produces real, geography-linked differences in soil suitability: per a septic-industry secondary summary, valley soils along Sherman Creek and its tributaries are generally suitable for conventional in-ground septic systems, while many sites in the county's ridge areas require alternative system designs -- a meaningfully more expensive and space-intensive category of system.
This page treats that valley-versus-ridge distinction as a useful, concrete due-diligence prompt rather than a guarantee about any specific parcel: soil conditions can vary within a single valley or ridge, and the only reliable way to know what a specific Perry County parcel can support is a soil probe and percolation test performed by the municipality's certified Sewage Enforcement Officer before you're under firm contract.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Perry County
Direct WebFetch to perryco.org was not attempted in this research pass, so several department pages, phone numbers, and hours reflect search-indexed content rather than a full verbatim read -- confirm current staff and contact details directly, and confirm zoning status and soil suitability with the specific township and a certified Sewage Enforcement Officer before relying on this page for a specific parcel.
Planning & Zoning
Perry County Planning Commission
Countywide planning coordination and subdivision/land development guidance -- confirm the specific township or borough for actual zoning jurisdiction and whether it has adopted zoning at all.
Building & Permitting
Perry County (municipality-specific)
Zoning and building permits -- contact the specific township or borough directly.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Local Sewage Enforcement Officer (municipality-specific)
Onlot sewage (septic) permits, soil probes, and perc testing -- contact the specific township or borough to identify the serving SEO.
Agricultural Extension
Perry County Conservation District
Agricultural land, soil, and conservation program information relevant to Perry County's farmland.
Assessor / Property Tax
Perry County Assessment Office
Property assessment and tax records.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Perry County Recorder of Deeds
Recorded deeds, easements, and plats for a specific parcel.
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Get local guidanceSources
- Perry County, Pennsylvania — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Perry County, Pennsylvania — Grokipedia — Grokipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Perry County, Pennsylvania — U.S. Census Bureau (accessed 2026-09)
- Planning Commission - Perry County, PA — Perry County, PA (accessed 2026-09)
- Perry County PA Septic Permit Guide — Septic & Well Pro (accessed 2026-09)
- Federal Information Processing System (FIPS) Codes for States and Counties — Federal Communications Commission (accessed 2026-09)
- Local Government Capacity (fact sheet on municipal zoning adoption, urban vs. rural) — Center for Rural Pennsylvania (accessed 2026-09)
- Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247 (53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.) — Pennsylvania General Assembly (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09