The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission was honoring its best of 2025 Wednesday night, but it was also looking far into the future.

If trends continue, expect the Valley to hold more than 800,000 people by 2050 with some communities seeing significant growth. Upper Macungie Township, LVPC experts said, could double in population.

“To put this all in perspective,” said LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley, “just since 1970, we’ve added 240,000 people. That’s like adding another Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Emmaus.”

Held at Hotel Bethlehem, the 2025 Lehigh Valley Awards Gala honored excellence in planning and development, including a new award honoring former LVPC chair and Lehigh County Commissioner Percy Dougherty.

Here are five things to know from the event:

The Lehigh Valley is growing at a fast rate

A forecast put together by Subham Kharel, LVPC senior data and analytics planner, and Minsoo Park, the LVPC and Workforce Lehigh Valley economist, predicts that the Lehigh Valley population will grow by 18.6%, or more than 100,000, to 816,000 in the next 25 years.

That means the Valley will add about 4,300 people each year.

Employment will grow faster, Kharel and Park found, by almost 25% in that period with more than 80,000 jobs coming to the market.

“Our strong employment market is what drives our population,” Park said, “and that strength is bolstered by a prime location that’s given us a central role in today’s logistics and ecommerce economy.”

People will work in a diversified industries

Park said certain job sectors “went into overdrive” after the COVID pandemic in 2020, especially transportation and warehousing along with healthcare and social assistance.

Property values remaining far below those of New York and New Jersey are pushing the recent growth, and Park expects it to continue. The Valley will have 400,000 jobs by 2050.

He said eight sectors will make up 75% of jobs in the region, led by healthcare, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing and retail trade.

Municipalities with the greatest job growth will be Upper Macungie Township, Allentown, Bethlehem, Lower Macungie Township and Upper Saucon Township.

The pandemic also changed commuting patterns, Kharel said, with 5,000 more per day coming into the Lehigh Valley for work, rather than leaving. That’s a major reversal from before the pandemic, when 4,000 more per day were leaving for their jobs.

Some townships and cities will see big growth

According to its website, Upper Macungie has a current population of about 25,000. According to the study, it will add 29,000 more people in the next 25 years.

That’s because, Park said, it will also lead the Lehigh Valley in job growth with more than 20,000 in the same period.

Also expecting a big bump is Allentown, which currently has about 127,000 people. Pennsylvania’s third-largest city is expected to have more than 17,000 coming in over the next 25 years along with 9,500 jobs.

Palmer Township could see 8,000 more in residents, while Bethlehem has an additional 9,200 jobs.

Other municipalities seeing growth include South Whitehall Township, Lower Macungie Township and Bethlehem Township because of housing availability and quality-of-life factors, Park said.

Migration patterns are changing

For the most part, people coming to the Lehigh Valley in the past were from different parts of Pennsylvania.

However, much of the growth in the future will come from other states.

“The growth rate of movers from different states is expected to increase faster than other groups,” Park said, “reflecting the Valley’s strong economic opportunities, affordable cost of living and regional appeal for both in-state and out-of-state movers.”

Park said international migration will continue to play an important role, but that it will slow in coming years.

That will impact race and ethnicity trends, Kharel said, with Latinos continuing to be the fastest growing group to become 28% of the total population. By 2050, the white non-Hispanic population in the Lehigh Valley will be 57%, down from 78% in 2010.

Award winners

Several projects, partnerships and municipalities were nominated for a slew of awards that recognized excellence in planning, development and community stewardship that strengthens quality of life and supports sustainable growth.

The Allentown Metal Works was recognized as the winner of the Community, Land, Development, Revitalization and Ordinance category. The former brownfield site in south Allentown saw manufacturing return in 2025 after sitting empty for more than a decade.

The 2025 Lehigh Valley Awards Gala | PHOTOS

The Palmer Bikeway won the Open Space and Environment category. The network of trails extends 7.8 miles around the township and connects with neighboring communities.

The Main Street restoration project in Freemansburg won the Transportation category.

Emmaus was named the Community of Distinction.

The Percy Dougherty Planning Award was given to Dougherty himself for his longtime service to both the LVPC and Lehigh County.

“He has an appreciation for people who devote their time and talents to planning and the community,” said Bob Dougherty, who accepted the award on behalf of his father.

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.