Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States

🇺🇸 Allentown is currently the fastest growing major city in Pennsylvania. It is the largest city in the larger metropolitan area known as the Lehigh Valley, the other two cities being Bethlehem, and Easton. Allentown is the county seat of Lehigh County.

There are approximately 30 million people living within 100 miles (160 km) of Allentown and the city has direct access to some of the largest markets, seaports, airports, railways and population centres in the United States but with a lower cost of living than many surrounding cities and regions.

Allentown was one of only six communities in the United States to have been named a "national success story" in April 2016 by the Urban Land Institute for its downtown redevelopment and transformation that has generated nearly $1 billion in new development projects as of April 2019.

Allentown is the fastest-growing major city in Pennsylvania and the state's third-largest city after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It is the largest city in both Lehigh County and the Lehigh Valley, which had a is the 68th most populous metropolitan area in the United States. Allentown was founded in 1762 and is the county seat of Lehigh County.

Located on the Lehigh River, a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the Delaware River, Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities, including Bethlehem and Easton in Lehigh and Northampton counties, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Allentown is located 48 miles (77 km) north of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, and 78 miles (126 km) west of New York City, the nation's largest city.

Economy Allentown historically was a hub for the nation's earliest industrialization and its economy was heavily manufacturing-based. Beginning in the late 20th century, the city evolved into a more service-oriented economy due to Rust Belt decline in heavy industry that commenced around 1980 and accelerated through the 20th century's last two decades. Allentown is corporate headquarters for several large companies, including Air Products, Talen Energy, PPL Corporation, and others. The largest employer in Allentown, as of 2007, is Lehigh Valley Health Network with over 7,800 employees. Lehigh Valley Health Network's flagship hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, is Pennsylvania's third largest hospital with 877 licensed beds and 46 operating rooms.

Center City Allentown, along Hamilton Street between 5th and 10th Streets, was the primary shopping district in Allentown for most of the 20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s, however, several shopping malls, including South Mall, Lehigh Valley Mall and Whitehall Mall were built in Allentown's suburbs and today represent the most popular shopping destinations. In October 2006, The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley opened south of Allentown in Upper Saucon Township.

Colleges and universities Two four-year colleges, Cedar Crest College and Muhlenberg College, are based in Allentown. Allentown is also home to a satellite campus of Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), a comprehensive community college that offers two-year and four-year degree programs, continuing education, and industry training.