Working Paper 115 · Trophy GeographyPennsylvania · 67 counties · Trophy Index · October 2026 snapshot
Pennsylvania Deer Counties Ranked: Allegheny Leads, Potter Ranks Fifty-Seventh
FDR Research Desk · Published FDR county analysis · Agency sources and methods linked below
Allegheny leads Pennsylvania's Trophy Index at 100, followed by Beaver and Delaware at 98 and Montgomery at 94. Potter ranks fifty-seventh at 50. Elk is forty-eighth at 58 and Cameron sixty-first at 45. The difference is substantial within this county trophy-history comparison, which adjusts documented history by estimated bow-huntable acreage. It is a different question from the harvest estimates Pennsylvania publishes by Wildlife Management Unit.
KEY FINDINGS
- Allegheny heads the ranking at 100. Beaver and Delaware both display 98, with order retained before rounding.
- Montgomery and Bucks follow at 94 and 93. Lawrence and Washington display 92.
- 66 counties are rated and Philadelphia is not rated. The habitat model supplies no qualifying bow-huntable acreage for Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania county finder
Where does your county rank?
Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 5, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the model has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage.
10 of 67 entries shown
| State rank | County | Trophy Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allegheny | 100 |
| 2 | Beaver | 98 |
| 3 | Delaware | 98 |
| 4 | Montgomery | 94 |
| 5 | Bucks | 93 |
| 6 | Lawrence | 92 |
| 7 | Washington | 92 |
| 8 | Chester | 90 |
| 9 | Butler | 90 |
| 10 | Indiana | 90 |
01County comparison
Allegheny leads, with several close scores behind it
Allegheny occupies the top position in Pennsylvania. Beaver and Delaware both print 98, followed by Montgomery at 94 and Bucks at 93. Lawrence and Washington display 92. Chester, Butler and Indiana complete the first ten at 90.
The common score at the bottom of that group is useful context for a property search. Chester in eighth, Butler in ninth and Indiana in tenth are not separated by a displayed point. Their ordinal order comes from the underlying rate before rounding, and the rounded numbers do not establish a measurable hunting advantage among them.
02County comparison
Clearfield, Tioga and Potter land well below the leaders
Clearfield ranks twenty-second at 77. Tioga is thirty-seventh at 65, Warren forty-fourth at 61 and Elk forty-eighth at 58. McKean ranks fifty-third at 56, followed farther down by Potter at 50, Cameron at 45 and Clinton at 44. The full table gives a much different impression than a list of the first ten alone.
Those lower values describe documented trophy history relative to modeled habitat. They do not count the living herd. A hunter with ground in Potter should read its 50 as county context under this measure, not as a fifty-fifty chance of success or a verdict on that property. The history and the acreage estimate both influence the result.
03County comparison
Berks shows why the fifteenth row is not a dividing line
Lehigh, Jefferson and Mercer occupy positions eleven through thirteen at 85. Westmoreland, Montour and Berks follow at 84. A list cut off at fifteenth would include Westmoreland and Montour while hiding Berks, despite their equal displayed scores.
Venango follows at 83, Clarion at 82, and Northampton and Armstrong at 81. These are useful county comparisons for someone considering more than one actual property. They also show why access to a familiar tract can matter more to a decision than moving a few places up a national relative index. The model does not measure that property tradeoff.
04County comparison
Keep the WMU harvest estimate on its own map
The Pennsylvania Game Commission's deer harvest estimates use Wildlife Management Units. Those units do not match county boundaries. Assigning an entire WMU estimate to a county inside it would create a precise-looking error. Use the county table for this historical comparison and the agency unit map for harvest context.
Philadelphia remains visible as not rated. The habitat model maps no qualifying bow-huntable acreage there, so the Trophy Index cannot form a rate. The other 66 counties receive numeric scores. A missing denominator is different from a low score and makes no claim that deer or hunting are absent from Philadelphia.
05Basis of this report
Sources and method
Scores and ranks are derived from the FDR capture of October 5, 2026. The Trophy Index summarizes 2011 through 2025 history per estimated bow-huntable acre using national scaling. Reporting patterns can affect the history. The score does not measure current deer density, current access or the probability of a successful hunt.
Compare the other states in the FDR county report series.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 5, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the model has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. FDR county scores and interpretations are independent analysis. A county ranking does not evaluate an individual property.
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