Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Homes in Shamokin cost about a year of local pay, but renters are stretched more than prices suggest
More affordable than 82% of U.S. towns, #127 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Sunbury, PA micro area ($62K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, homes in Shamokin cost less than the Pennsylvania typical home. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and Sunbury-area incomes are lower too ($62K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 1.42% of a home’s value a year (Pennsylvania: 1.30%), and 52% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $970a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 1.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$62K, Sunbury-area income
- 16%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 52%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Pennsylvania: 48%Census 2020–24
- 21%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Shamokin, in brief
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in May, it would take about 5 months to sell everything listed (Pennsylvania: 2.7). The typical home took 43 days to sell and sold at 88% of asking. Only 10% sold above the asking price. How fast homes sell ↓
Half the homes were built before 1938
Half of Shamokin’s homes were built before 1938, against 1965 for Pennsylvania as a whole. Older homes can mean character, and also bigger heating and repair bills, so an inspection matters. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Shamokin, so the typical value is the Census median; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Shamokin’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Shamokin is more affordable than 82% of U.S. towns, #127 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 10 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs about a year of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Shamokin’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Shamokin home, with $165K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $970 a month here, $580 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Shamokin’s typical property tax (1.42% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $970
Renters already here pay a median of $824, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Northumberland County, PA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
No new homes permitted in 2025
No permits for new homes were issued in Shamokin in 2025. The last year with any was 2008 (1 new home).
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Shamokin's population fell by 432 and no new homes were permitted. Across Pennsylvania: 1.4 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $50,000 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $100,000 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $100,000 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $91,000 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Shamokin's permit office reported 10 of 12 months in 2025; the Census estimated the rest.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $858, under the Pennsylvania median of $3,311, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 1.42% a year, against 1.30% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Shamokin vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Shamokin. Fairview-Ferndale and Marshallton have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shamokin | A− | — | $60K | 1.42% | $970 |
| Fairview-Ferndale | – | — | $87K | 1.13% | $970 |
| Marshallton | – | — | $83K | 1.07% | $970 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Shamokin
Is Shamokin expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Shamokin costs less than 82% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living, #127 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 1.0 years of the median household income of the Sunbury, PA micro area ($62K).
How much is rent in Shamokin?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $970 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $824 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Shamokin?
The median bill is $858 a year, 1.42% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Shamokin buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.