Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,551, settled in 1871.
Avoca gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $215K for a typical one, or 3.3 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income. It grades A− overall, ranked 363rd of 1032 in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 70% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns. 14% of residents are under 18 in Avoca, below both the Pennsylvania town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Avoca is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Avoca's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Avoca beats most towns.
Where Avoca’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Avoca is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,913 in 1880, a peak of 4,950 in 1920, 2,507 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1984 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Avoca, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Avoca.
Avoca pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Pennsylvania norm and reports less crime than Duryea or any other graded neighbor, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
Its A tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Duryea (B+) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Avoca’s property crime rate is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Avoca | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Avoca for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Avoca is 22 minutes. The top destinations are Scranton (11%), Wilkes-Barre (8%) and Plains Township (6%).
| Avoca | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.8% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Avoca grades A− overall with a typical home of about $215K, below the Pennsylvania typical value; only 34 of the 112 Pennsylvania towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Avoca home is worth about $215,000, up 1.1% in a year, 25% below the Pennsylvania typical home.
| Avoca | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $986 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 78% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $314 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Avoca.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Avoca has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,644 U.S. towns with household incomes like Avoca’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Avoca beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 19% of Avoca adults binge drink.
| Avoca | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Avoca | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.8% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Plane Street Park | — | 1 |
| 2. Avoca Recreational Complex | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Avoca. Close and well known come first.
6 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
27 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack2 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
27 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
4 mi Ski areaMontage Mountain Ski Area25 runs · 998 ft vertical
21 mi State parkHickory Run State ParkSteamtown National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Lake Wallenpaupack: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ricketts Glen State Park: en:User:Msitler, Public domain · Montage Mountain Ski Area: Montage Mountain Resorts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hickory Run State Park: Mtruch, CC BY-SA 3.0
11 within 15 miles of the center of Avoca
About 3 of every 100 Avoca residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
6 notable people were born in Avoca.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Avoca is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 7.5 miles (12.1 km) northeast of Wilkes Barre and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) southwest of Scranton. The population was 2,501 at the time of the 2020 census. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport borders Avoca to the east.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Avoca.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Dupont (B) comes closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avoca | #363 | A− | B | A | C+ | B |
| Duryea | #921 | C− | C+ | B+ | C+ | C− |
| Dupont | #546 | B | A− | B | C+ | B− |
| Pittston Township | #895 | C | C+ | C− | C+ | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Avoca grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #363 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, A for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
6 notable people were born here, including John W. Murphy and Michael B. Carroll.
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