The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a state which is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic areas of the United States. Pennsylvania borders New Jersey to the east, Ohio to the west, Ontario, Canada and New York to the north and Delaware and Maryland to the south, with West Virginia to the southwest. Harrisburg is the state capital. Pennsylvania has its four most heavily populated cities being Erie, Allentown, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
For fifty one miles, the state of Pennsylvania has coastline along Lake Erie and fifty seven miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. The state has a robust African American population with perhaps the largest White American populations, based on the 2000 and 2010 census.
The Gross State Product of Pennsylvania was $553.3 billion in the year 2008, making it the 6th ranked state within the US. The financial system would rank 18th in the world if Pennsylvania were an independent nation. The state nonetheless ranks 26th in the nation for per capita GSP at roughly $35,641.
The majority of the state is rural, that affects a lot of the economy and politics of the state. Pittsburgh is in the southwest corner, Philadelphia is found in the southeast corner, Erie is in the northwest corner. Found in the central eastern part, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is a large urban manufacturing center. Philadelphia is home to 6 Fortune 500 companies. There are more situated in the suburbs, such as, King of Prussia; it is a leader in the insurance and financial trade.
In the city of Pittsburgh, there are 8 Fortune 500 companies including: U.S. Steel. PPG Industries and H.J. Heinz. GE Transportation Systems is also the largest producer of train locomotives in the USA and they are found within Erie.
The largest private company within the Commonwealth is Wal-Mart, like the majority of the states. The University of Pennsylvania takes 2nd place. Based on statistics from January the year 2010, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is 8.8%.