Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jessup is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 494th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 70% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 69% of Pennsylvania towns. A typical home there costs about $227K, 3.5 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income. 34% of the land in Jessup is conserved, against 8.2% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 119 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Pinchot State Forest, at 28 acres.
Where Jessup beats most towns.
33.7% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Jessup is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 905 in 1880, a peak of 8,508 in 1930, 4,520 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 7 maps from 1889 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jessup. Close and well known come first.
7 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
16 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
38 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park11 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
30 mi Ski areaCamelback Mountain Resort37 runs · 804 ft vertical
6 mi City parkNay Aug 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 · Camelback Mountain Resort: Calzarette at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Nay Aug Park: The Mebane Greeting Card Co., Wilkes-Barre, PA., Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jessup, 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 Jessup.
Jessup draws workers from Scranton and beyond and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Pennsylvania, but it reports more crime than Blakely and its other graded neighbors.
Its 1,456 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 93% of Pennsylvania towns.
There are 31 miles of trail across 7 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dick & Nancy Eales Preserve at Moosic Mountain | 20.9 mi | 1,391 |
| 2. Pinchot State Forest | 0.5 mi | 28 |
| 3. Jessup Memorial Stadium | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Salle Academy PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 170 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
4,137 jobs are based in Jessup, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 2,495 in 2013 to 4,137.
For half of commuters, work is under 8 miles away. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Jessup rose by 1,642, to 4,137. Among residents locally, 18% live below the poverty line, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The typical journey to work for Jessup comes to 28 minutes.
| Jessup | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,912 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jessup’s, it is healthier than 91%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Jessup: 32% of adults have obesity. The share of adults in Jessup who binge drink: 19%.
| Jessup | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 24% | 25% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jessup’s age of the median resident stands at 45.6 years. Adults 35 to 64 are 48% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (22% statewide). The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 30%, against 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Jessup | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.6 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 21% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Jessup | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.3% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.6% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.5% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.7% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,500, single groups can be off by several points
Home values rose 50% in five years, to about $227K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
The typical home value in Jessup is about $227,000, up 6.6% in a year, 21% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Homes sold in Jessup spent a median 19 days on the market. Its rent at the middle of the market comes in at $959 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In July, afternoons reach 80°; in January, nights fall to 16°, and about 47 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jessup is safe by national standards, yet each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Blakely (B+) to Jefferson Township (A+).
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Jessup sits closer to the middle. In Jessup, the violent crime rate is 2 per 1,000 residents.
| Jessup | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected losses in Jessup break down as 83% from inland flooding and 6% from cold waves. The town’s FEMA hazard score is 59 of 100. Since 1985, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
8 within 15 miles of the center of Jessup
About 3 of every 100 Jessup residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Jessup’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Jessup.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Jessup is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,532 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Jessup.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessup | #494 | B+ | B− | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Blakely | #446 | B+ | B | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Archbald | #341 | A− | C+ | A− | B+ | B+ |
| Olyphant | #539 | B | B− | A | C+ | C+ |
| Jefferson Township | #280 | A− | B | A+ | A | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Jessup grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #494 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and B+ for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Jessup sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
5 notable people were born here, including Louis Arthur Watres and Dan Costello.
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