Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Edwardsville grades D− overall, 1030th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $45K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: 14% of its land is conserved. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Edwardsville, above both the Pennsylvania town median (7.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Edwardsville's schools rank behind 75% of the state's. Edwardsville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Edwardsville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Edwardsville’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 Edwardsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,284 in 1890, a peak of 9,027 in 1920, 4,929 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Edwardsville. Close and well known come first.
16 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
36 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
19 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
19 mi State parkHickory Run State Park12 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
32 mi Ski areaCamelback Mountain Resort37 runs · 804 ft verticalSteamtown 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 · Hickory Run State Park: Mtruch, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Camelback Mountain Resort: Calzarette at en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Edwardsville, 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 Edwardsville.
Edwardsville is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the Pennsylvania rate.
Against the 3,952 U.S. towns with household incomes like Edwardsville’s, it is less healthy than 76%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of Edwardsville adults report frequent physical distress. Edwardsville beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 20% of Edwardsville adults report frequent mental distress.
| Edwardsville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 24% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Edwardsville | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.6% | 14.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 10.2% | 5.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.6 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income, the typical home (about $171K) costs less against local pay than in 78% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. Home values rose 38% in five years, to about $171K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
The typical Edwardsville home is worth about $171,000, up 0.6% in a year, 40% below the Pennsylvania typical home. 46% of households own their home in Edwardsville.
| Edwardsville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,069 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,860 working residents takes 19 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave Edwardsville for work: only 2% work in town. The average trip to work in Edwardsville is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Edwardsville has lost 203 jobs, to 1,080 in 2023.
| Edwardsville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Edwardsville has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 18° and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John J. Hopkins Memorial Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Edwardsville's reported crime rate is close to Pennsylvania's. Edwardsville’s property crime rate is 15.4 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Edwardsville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 15.4 per 1,000 residents | 6.7 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Edwardsville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
5 within 15 miles of the center of Edwardsville
About 2 of every 100 Edwardsville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
3 notable people were born in Edwardsville.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Edwardsville is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,918 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Edwardsville.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Wilkes-Barre (D) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwardsville | #1030 | D− | B− | — | C | D |
| Larksville | #993 | D | C+ | — | C | B− |
| Kingston | #962 | C− | C+ | B− | C | C+ |
| Wilkes-Barre | #1019 | D | B− | C− | D | D |
| Pringle | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Edwardsville and Larksville report no FBI crime data of their own. Pringle isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Edwardsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Edwardsville grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #1030 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.6 years of the area's median household income ($65,158 across the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Albert Kurland and Franklin Coslett.
.jpg){kind=link}
