Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town settled in 1888, now home to 5,155 people.
Cheap to live in, with trade-offs. With a B+ overall, Swoyersville is better than three quarters of U.S. towns and ranks 397th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Cost of living is its strong suit — a typical home costs about $218K, 3.3 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income. Safety is a strength too (A−): it reports less crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns. The catch is schools: its schools rank behind three quarters of the state's. Walkability is weaker too (C−). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than just over three quarters of U.S. towns. Swoyersville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 81% of U.S. towns.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FBI crime data, 2025 · schools, state test and graduation results.
Where Swoyersville beats most towns.
Where Swoyersville’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 Swoyersville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,264 in 1900, a peak of 9,234 in 1940, 5,021 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2023 and a map from 1893 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Swoyersville. Close and well known come first.
13 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
34 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
20 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
21 mi State parkHickory Run State Park10 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
32 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Swoyersville, 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 Swoyersville.
Swoyersville is healthier than towns with similar incomes, sends most of its workers to Wilkes-Barre and beyond and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s.
1.8 miles of trail wind through 3 parks and preserves. Swoyersville’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Swoyersville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Morgan Recreational Park | 0.2 mi | 14 |
| 2. Loveland Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Slocum Street Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Academy High School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 1–12 | Grades 1–12 | 192 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 9.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 59% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Swoyersville’s violent crime rate comes in at 0.4 per 1,000 residents. Its rate of thefts and burglaries is 4.7 per 1,000 residents, below both the Pennsylvania town median (5.7) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9).
| Swoyersville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Swoyersville has 370 jobs for its 2,389 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
The top destinations are Wilkes-Barre (15%), Plains Township (9%) and Kingston (8%). Only 2% of working residents stay in Swoyersville for work; the rest commute out. Jobs here fell by 33 from 2013 to 2023, to 370. Half the trips to work are shorter than 5 miles.
| Swoyersville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.7% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 10,639 U.S. towns with household incomes like Swoyersville’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Swoyersville: one in ten adults have diabetes. Against the Pennsylvania average, Swoyersville comes out ahead on 4 CDC measures out of 26, and behind on 2. 16% of adults in Swoyersville report frequent mental distress; 22% get no exercise outside work.
| Swoyersville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 24% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Swoyersville | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.5% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 15.8% | 18.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The rent at the middle of the market in Swoyersville is $744 a month. A typical home locally is worth about $218,000, down 1.1% in a year, 24% below the Pennsylvania typical home. On the market here: a median 12 days to sell.
| Swoyersville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $744 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
For Swoyersville, the peak summer temperature is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (20% statewide); children under 18 are 14% of residents (21% statewide). The age of the median resident for Swoyersville comes to 53 years. Four-year graduates: just over a quarter of adults 25 and older here, 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Swoyersville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Swoyersville | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.1% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.1% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.1% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.1% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.9% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.2% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Swoyersville after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 45 claims here since 1978.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Swoyersville
About 5 of every 100 Swoyersville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
10 notable people were born in Swoyersville.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Swoyersville is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,008 in the 2020 census. Swoyersville is located within the Wyoming Valley West School District.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Swoyersville.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Kingston Township (B+) comes closest. Kingston Township next door grades higher for schools (A− to Swoyersville’s C) and lower for cost of living (C to A).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swoyersville | #397 | B+ | A | A− | C | B+ |
| Kingston Township | #507 | B+ | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Forty Fort | #536 | B | B | A+ | C | B |
| West Wyoming | #849 | C | C+ | — | B− | B− |
Kingston Township and West Wyoming report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Swoyersville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Swoyersville grades B+ overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #397 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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.
10 notable people were born here, including Walt Michaels and Joe Holup.
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