Photo: Vasiliymeshko · CC BY-SA 3.0Luzerne has lower household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Luzerne are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. 19.9% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.7% for Pennsylvania as a whole. Only 5% work in Luzerne; the top destination outside it is Wilkes-Barre (17%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Luzerne: the figures worth knowing
Luzerne trades workers with the towns around it
Luzerne has about as many jobs (1,033) as working residents (1,176), but they are mostly different people: 1,121 residents leave for work each day while 978 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Luzerne are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Luzerne residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Luzerne
55% of Luzerne residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Luzerne pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Luzerne are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Luzerne pay little
28% of the jobs based in Luzerne pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Luzerne gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Luzerne is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #952 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Luzerne’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($42,135, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Luzerne could be anywhere from D to B−.
Luzerne by day and by night
On a workday 1,121 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 978 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Luzerne
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What the 1,033 jobs in Luzerne are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Luzerne, 2013 → 2023: 957 → 1,033. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Luzerne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Luzerne: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Luzerne workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,101 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The places Luzerne commutes to
Where Luzerne clocks in
17% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Luzerne is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Luzerne is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #256 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Luzerne near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,294 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.4% of Luzerne households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Luzerne’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Luzerne ranks: 3,876th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Churchill PA | 3,014 | $107K | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Thornbury Township PA | 3,165 | $172K | 2.4% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,874 | Mountain View AR | 2,940 | $29K | 23.1% | 0.0% | 32% | C− |
| 3,875 | Tonkawa OK | 2,983 | $59K | 13.9% | 4.9% | 22% | C− |
| 3,876 | Luzerne PA | 2,744 | $42K | 19.9% | 6.4% | 5% | C− |
| 3,877 | Lyford TX | 2,210 | $56K | 20.8% | 7.3% | 11% | C− |
| 3,878 | Winnebago Township NE | 1,999 | $66K | 16.5% | 11.5% | 52% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Luzerne, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Luzerne and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Luzerne workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne | – | C− | A | 20 min | $42,135 |
| Kingston Township | under 3% | B+ | C− | 27 min | $76,574 |
| Pringle | under 3% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Courtdale | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pringle and Courtdale: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Luzerne’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Luzerne: questions
What is the median household income in Luzerne?
$42,135 (±$13,354) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Luzerne?
19.9%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Luzerne?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Luzerne work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilkes-Barre (17%, 3 mi), Plains Township (10%, 5 mi), Kingston (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Luzerne walkable?
Luzerne is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Luzerne without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Luzerne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Luzerne
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.