Living in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Wilkes-Barre is a small city of 44,423 people in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. It's about 15 miles from Scranton, PA and 94 miles from Philadelphia, PA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 36°F, with about 43 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $117k and rent runs about $946 a month.
44,423people
$117kTypical home
$946/moRent
84° / 36°Summer / winter
43"Snow
201Sunny days
139Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small city of 44,423
- Part of a metro area
- About 6,487 people per sq mi
- 94 mi to Philadelphia, PA
- 15 mi to Scranton, PA
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $117k (≈$739/mo)
- Median rent $946/mo
- Median household income $49k
- Property tax about 1.8% of value
- 8.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 36°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 201 sunny days a year (51 totally clear)
- 164 cloudy days a year
- 53 of 90 winter days are gray
- 139 days a year with rain or snow
- 43" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 22 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (392 per 100k)
- High property crime (7,845 per 100k)
People
- Median age 35
- 29% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Very diverse community
- 11% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 8% walk or take transit to work
- 10 mi to AVP airport
- 97 mi to EWR (major hub)
- 85 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 64% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1943
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 548 ft
- 96 mi to the ocean
- 91 mi to a big lake
- 5 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 13 mi to the nearest ski area
- 9 mi to the nearest campground
- 37 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 527 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 85 bars within 25 mi
- 95 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 5 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 19 museums within 25 mi
- 3 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 16 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 17% of Pennsylvania districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 16 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 30 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 2 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Luzerne County: R+19 in 2024
- Pennsylvania: Purple — split almost evenly
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk