Understand
Shrewsbury was first settled in part of a larger area known as Shrewsbury Township in 1739. As the village developed, it was incorporated as its own town in 1834. The largest ancestry group in Shrewsbury is from Germany, with 38 percent of residents today identifying with either German or Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. The town of Shrewsbury covers a mere 1.8 square miles, existing in the township that covers 29 square miles. The township includes Shrewsbury, Railroad, New Freedom, and Glen Rock, and students attend the Southern York County School District.
The town has developed rapidly, with a population increase of 45 percent in the past 20 years. With nearly double the people, farms and pieces of land have been sold and commercialized with creation of strip malls and multiple shopping plazas. Although Shrewsbury is part of the York metropolitan area, most commuters travel south to Baltimore County for work. Sixty-five percent of Shrewsbury residents are married or have families, with a median family income of about $57,000 per year. The majority of citizens in Shrewsbury claim to be registered Republicans, and demographically, the town is 97 percent white.
