Formed in 1634 as one of the eight original shires (counties) of the Virginia Colony, York County is one of the oldest counties in the U.S. Yorktown is one of the three points of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia, and the location where victory was accomplished in 1781 at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War to gain independence from Great Britain.
In modern times, the county is home to several important U.S. military installations. There are many miles of waterfront residential and recreational areas. York County adjoins the Busch Gardens Europe theme park and includes within its borders the affiliated Water Country USA water park, Presidents Park, the Yorktown Riverfront area, Yorktown Battlefield and Visitor Center and Yorktown Victory Center. Yorktown is linked by the National Park Service's bucolic Colonial Parkway with Colonial Williamsburg and the Historic Jamestowne and Jamestown Settlement attractions at Jamestown, Virginia, all helping make worldwide tourism to the Historic Triangle a major economic activity for the county.
As of 2007, the population was estimated at 61,271 and the median household income was $78,234 , the highest in all of Hampton Roads.
As of the census of 2000, there were 56,297 people, 20,000 households, and 15,880 families residing in the county. The population density was 533 people per square mile (206/km²). There were 20,701 housing units at an average density of 196 per square mile (76/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.00% White, 13.38% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 20,000 households out of which 42.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.30% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.60% were non-families. 16.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was spread out with 29.10% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,956, and the median income for a family was $64,892. Males had a median income of $42,948 versus $28,713 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,560. About 2.70% of families and 3.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.90% of those under age 18 and 3.80% of those age 65 or over.