Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 5,433 people, this town lies in Pennsylvania.
Luzerne Township’s weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 89% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. It lags on health as well (C−): residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Safety is its strong suit: it reports less crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is a strength too — a typical home costs about $128K, 1.7 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. The overall grade comes out at C+, better than 38% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 807th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. The biggest park or preserve is Patsy Hillman Park, at 446 acres. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · OpenStreetMap.
Where Luzerne Township beats most towns.
Penn-Craft Historic DistrictWhere Luzerne 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 Luzerne Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for safety (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for schools (better than 11%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 8 old photos and papers and 4 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Luzerne 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 Luzerne Township.
Luzerne Township sees little violent crime and has added half again as many jobs in ten years, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Luzerne Township reports less crime per resident than 100% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. Police in Luzerne Township reported no property crime.
| Luzerne Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Brownsville Area SD runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Brownsville Area HS, with 457 students. Two of the 3 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Area El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 617 | C− |
| Brownsville Area HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 457 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Among adults in Luzerne Township, 15% have diabetes. The town beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 17% of adults in Luzerne Township report frequent physical distress; 25% say their health is fair or poor.
| Luzerne Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Luzerne Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.3% | 79.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 523 in 2013 to 1,027.
The median commute is under 21 miles. 17% of Luzerne Township residents live below the poverty line. Only 5% of working residents stay in Luzerne Township for work; the rest commute out. Also worth knowing: the town had 1,027 jobs in 2023, up 504 from 2013.
| Luzerne Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $411 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
The risk rating from FEMA for Luzerne Township comes to 70 of 100. Since 1985, Luzerne Township has seen 21 flood insurance claims paid out. 90% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 22°, with about 28 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
There are 0.3 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Patsy Hillman Park | — | 446 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Luzerne Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
29 mi Theme parkKennywood
33 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
33 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
22 mi Stadium & arenaMountaineer Field at Milan Puskar StadiumFallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Acrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Luzerne Township
About 4 of every 100 Luzerne Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
3 places in Luzerne Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Luzerne Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,585 at the 2020 census, down from 5,965 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of East Millsboro, La Belle, Hiller, Isabella, Luzerne, Dutch Hill, Maxwell, Allison, Alicia, East Fredericktown and Penncraft are located within the township. La Belle, Luzerne, Dutch Hill, Maxwell and East Fredericktown are served by the post office in La Belle and thus have the same ZIP code (15450), as does SCI Fayette, a Pennsylvania state prison located next to East Fredericktown.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Luzerne Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne Township | #807 | C+ | A− | A+ | D | C− |
| Redstone Township | #612 | B | A | A+ | D | C |
| Hiller | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Republic | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brownsville | — | — | A | — | D | D |
| Allison | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cumberland Township | #846 | C | B+ | B− | C | C+ |
| East Bethlehem Township | — | — | A+ | — | C | C |
Brownsville and East Bethlehem Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Brownsville and East Bethlehem Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Hiller, Republic and Allison aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Luzerne Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Luzerne Township grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #807 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, A+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Luzerne Township reports less crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, an A+ Safety Grade: 0 violent and 0 property crimes in 2025.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
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