Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,820, settled in 1993.
Bear Creek Township grades D overall, 1020th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, mostly because of schools and health. Its public schools trail 87% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. Residents are less healthy than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it has 45 miles of trail and 67% conserved land. 67% of the land in Bear Creek Township is conserved, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. State Game Lands Number 91, at 11,232 acres with 2.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Bear Creek Township beats most towns.
67.2% of the town is conserved land, across 12 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bear Creek Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 284 in 2000, 291 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2016 and 5 maps from 1922 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bear Creek Township. Close and well known come first.
14 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
29 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
12 mi State parkHickory Run State Park
29 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
22 mi Ski areaCamelback Mountain Resort37 runs · 804 ft vertical11 mi Theme parkRocky Glen ParkSteamtown National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Lake Wallenpaupack: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hickory Run State Park: Mtruch, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ricketts Glen State Park: en:User:Msitler, Public domain · Camelback Mountain Resort: Calzarette at en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bear Creek Township, 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 Bear Creek Township.
Bear Creek Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of Pennsylvania and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it trails Thornhurst Township and its other neighbors on schools.
Its 29,555 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Pennsylvania town.
45 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shades Creek Parcel | 19.8 mi | 3,138 |
| 2. Pinchot State Forest | 7.7 mi | 4,039 |
| 3. State Game Lands Number 119 | 3.6 mi | 2,967 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Thornhurst Township highest at A.
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Community CSLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 604 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Bear Creek Township, above both the Pennsylvania town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 41% of Bear Creek Township adults sleep under 7 hours. Bear Creek Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10.
| Bear Creek Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bear Creek Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 11.2% | 5.8% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 30.1% | 23.8% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 23.6% | 18.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bear Creek Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bear Creek Township has 178 jobs for its 1,147 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Bear Creek Township for work: only 2% work in town. The average trip to work in Bear Creek Township is 30 minutes. The top destinations are Wilkes-Barre (19%), Plains Township (10%) and Wilkes-Barre Township (4%).
| Bear Creek Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $88,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 77.7°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 15.1°.
Bear Creek Township’s July high is 78°F. Bear Creek Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers. Bear Creek Township’s January low is 15°F.
| Bear Creek Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 85°F | 85°F |
| January low | 15°F | 21°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 23% of residents are 65 or older in Bear Creek Township. Bear Creek Township has grown 2.5% since 2020, to 2,820 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Bear Creek Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.3 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 21% | 18% |
44% women, 56% men
About 128 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.7 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Bear Creek Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.7% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.2% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.4% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.9% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.9% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.3% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
7 within 15 miles of the center of Bear Creek Township
About 6 of every 100 Bear Creek Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
Where Bear Creek Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Bear Creek Village is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 290 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Bear Creek Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Township | #1020 | D | C+ | — | D | C− |
| Kidder Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Penn Lake Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Buck Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dennison Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jenkins Township | #1007 | D | C− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Thornhurst Township | — | — | D | — | A | B− |
| Fairview Township | #95 | A+ | C+ | A+ | A− | A− |
Kidder Township and Thornhurst Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bear Creek Township, Kidder Township, Jenkins Township and Thornhurst Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Penn Lake Park, Buck Township and Dennison Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bear Creek Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bear Creek Township grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #1020 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health and D for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
.jpg){kind=link}
