Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kingston Township grades B+ overall, 507th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 83% of Pennsylvania towns and natural-hazard risk is low. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 73% of the country. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $249K, 3.8 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income. Kingston Township’s trail network density is 1.0 miles per square mile, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 152 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns score lower on history. The biggest place to walk is Frances Slocum State Park, 998 acres with 13 miles of trail.
Where Kingston Township beats most towns.
Where Kingston Township’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 Kingston Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 638 in 1860, a peak of 21,600 in 1930, 13,349 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kingston 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 Kingston Township.
Trails total 14 miles in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frances Slocum State Park | 13 mi | 998 |
| 2. Pinchot State Forest | — | 5 |
| 3. Kingston Township Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trucksville Early Childhood Education Center PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–K | Grades PK–K | 132 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Of the losses FEMA expects in Kingston Township, 60% come from inland flooding and 17% from cold waves. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1981: 19.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.5% of Kingston Township residents live below the poverty line. Only 6% of working residents stay in Kingston Township for work; the rest commute out. The top destinations are Wilkes-Barre (14%), Plains Township (7%) and Dallas Township (6%).
| Kingston Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 9.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
Among adults in Kingston Township, 15% smoke cigarettes, below the Pennsylvania town median (17%) and near the median of U.S. towns (14%). In Kingston Township, 5.5% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. The town beats the Pennsylvania average on 4 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Kingston Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5.5% | 7% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Kingston Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.3% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 16.4% | 18.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Kingston Township’s July high stands at 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2024. Kingston Township’s level of violent crime is 0.1 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Kingston Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 6.8 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kingston Township. Close and well known come first.
13 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
35 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
19 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
24 mi State parkHickory Run State Park10 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
35 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
9 within 15 miles of the center of Kingston Township
About 2 of every 100 Kingston Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Kingston is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the western bank of the Susquehanna River opposite Wilkes-Barre. Kingston was first settled in the early 1770s, and incorporated as a borough in 1857. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,349, making it the most populous borough in Luzerne County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Kingston Township.
Swoyersville next door grades lower for schools (C to Kingston Township’s A−) and higher for cost of living (A to C).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston Township | #507 | B+ | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Courtdale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dallas Township | #245 | A | C− | A | A− | B+ |
| Shavertown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Franklin Township | — | — | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Luzerne | #916 | C | B+ | B− | C | D |
| Swoyersville | #397 | B+ | A | A− | C | B+ |
| West Wyoming | #849 | C | C+ | — | B− | B− |
Franklin Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Kingston Township, Franklin Township and West Wyoming report no FBI crime data of their own. Courtdale and Shavertown aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Kingston Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Kingston Township grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #507 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools. Walkability 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 C.
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