Portrait of William Giles, miner-farmer of Union Township, Pennsylvania, 1940
Union Township’s story
200 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1940.
- 1826Union Township is settled
Union TownshipPA
7 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Jakec · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
2,074
2025 Census estimate · +2.5% since 2020
Median home value
$221K
Census ACS
Household income
$93K
median
Median age
49.7
years
Jobs based here
249
A commuter town
Is Union Township a good place to live?
The best of Union Township’s subject grades is an A− for cost of living; the weakest is a D for walkability. Union Township’s average trip to work is 38 minutes, against 26 minutes in Pennsylvania’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On walkability, just 86 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. On the outdoors, just 76 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is State Game Lands Number 224, at 219 acres. Union Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Union Township stand out
Where Union Township beats most towns.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Union Township for work
Where Union Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
249jobs based in Union Township
4%of working residents work in town
16 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Union Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Union Township is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.1 of 20; 3.1% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitDOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $221K, 3.4 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household incomeA−Open →SchoolsC+Open →Jobs & income$93K median household incomeBOpen →HealthGeisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center 14.5 miles awayB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors7% conserved landDOpen →HistoryBOpen →Civic life3.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Union Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Union Township, and how to reach them.
PowerUGI Utilities19.8¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterAqua Pa Shickshinny LakeNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers89% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Union Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereLuzerne County Board of ElectionsLuzerne County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2015
ZIP codes18655, 1862118655 83% · 18621 17%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Union Township.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
Union Township has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Union Township for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Union Township fell to 249 in 2023, 420 fewer than in 2013. 5.9% of Union Township residents live below the poverty line, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
4%work in town
| Union Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Union Township4%
Wilkes-Barre11%
Hanover Township5%
Plains Township5%
Salem Township5%
16 mi
median commute distance
249
jobs based in Union Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
SchoolsC+
Public schools in Union Township fall behind 65% of Pennsylvania districts
Its public schools are run by Northwest Area SD. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Northwest Area HS, with 406 students.
35%of PA districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Area HSLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 406 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−
High risk in Union Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Union Township.
76risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold waves
11
paid flood claims since 1979
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Union Township
Union Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Union Township is 83°F.
36″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–37°
Spring36–59°
Summer58–81°
Fall41–61°
Oct 11
typical first frost
May 4
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7.2%conserved
7.2%
conserved · 929 of 12,875 acres
0.2 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 224 | — | 219 |
| 2. State Game Lands Number 260 | — | 63 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthB−
On CDC estimates, Union Township is less healthy than 54% of U.S. towns
Union Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 18% of Union Township adults smoke cigarettes.
46%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
| Union Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
0 better22 too close to call4 worse
| What stands out | Union Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 7.7% |
| More adults with arthritis | 36.3% | 30.4% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.6% | 7.4% |
Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
14.5 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: dental
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Union Township
18pages on Union Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Union Township
Luzerne County Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Nanticoke8.4 mi$6,600 in-state tuitionPennsylvania State University-Penn State Wilkes-BarreUniversity or college · Public · Dallas10.1 mi$14,280 in-state tuitionMisericordia UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Dallas13.7 mi$40,370 tuition
About 4 of every 100 Union Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
About Union Township
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Union Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,033 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 20 sq mi
Union Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Union Township.
Conyngham TownshipHunlock TownshipShickshinnyHuntington TownshipSalem TownshipGlen LyonNewport TownshipUnion Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | — | — | A− | — | C+ | B− |
| Conyngham Township | — | — | A | — | C− | B− |
| Hunlock Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Shickshinny | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Huntington Township | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Salem Township | #727 | B− | C+ | A | C+ | C |
| Glen Lyon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Newport Township | #782 | C+ | A− | A | C− | D |
Union Township, Conyngham Township, Hunlock Township and Huntington Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Union Township, Conyngham Township, Hunlock Township and Huntington Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Shickshinny and Glen Lyon aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Union Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Union Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Union Township, PA expensive?
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−.