Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Health is its weak spot (D): residents are less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Overall, Wilkes-Barre earns a D, better than 6% of U.S. towns. It ranks 1019th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. At about $186K, a typical home costs 2.9 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income. Where it does best is walkability (A) — it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. Schools are weaker too — its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 17 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results.
Where Wilkes-Barre beats most towns.
Its 17 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Pennsylvania towns with a listing.
Census counts: 835 in 1800, a peak of 86,626 in 1930, 44,328 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1840 and 5 maps from 1891 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Wilkes-Barre is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wilkes-Barre. Close and well known come first.
15 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
35 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
21 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
18 mi State parkHickory Run State Park11 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
30 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 Wilkes-Barre, 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 Wilkes-Barre.
Wilkes-Barre is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and reports more crime than Plains Township and its other graded neighbors.
Against the 5,217 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wilkes-Barre’s, it is less healthy than 66%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Wilkes-Barre. The share of adults in Wilkes-Barre who had a checkup this year is 78%, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 79% and U.S. towns at 79%. Among adults locally, 42% sleep under 7 hours and 20% smoke cigarettes. Of 26 CDC measures, Wilkes-Barre beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 and trails it on 13.
| Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Wilkes-Barre | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.2% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.8% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools: Wilkes-Barre Area SD. Of its 12 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| G A R MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,101 | D |
| Milford E Barnes Jr. School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 60 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 52% in five years, to about $186K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.3% in value. Among households in Wilkes-Barre, 51% own their home. The median rent for Wilkes-Barre comes to $946 a month, below both Pennsylvania’s towns ($1,116 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). A home in Wilkes-Barre typically sold within 15 days of listing.
| Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $946 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 44% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Plains Township (B−) to Kingston (B−). At 32.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 90% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Wilkes-Barre is 4.1 per 1,000 residents. The property offense rate here is 15.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.2 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The biggest place to walk is Kirby Park, 121 acres with 1.8 miles of trail. Count the trails in 19 parks and preserves and they come to 3.2 miles.
| Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kirby Park | 1.8 mi | 121 |
| 2. Wilkes-Barre River Common | 0.3 mi | 19 |
| 3. Barney Farms Park | 0.3 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $315 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on. 523 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 90 properties have flooded more than once.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Wilkes-Barre after 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. The town’s FEMA hazard score stands at 69 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 523 claims locally since 1978. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 76% come from inland flooding and 9% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 85°; in January, nights fall to 18°, and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Wilkes-Barre, the typical journey to work is 21 minutes. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 18% of working residents work locally. Also worth knowing: for residents locally, the share who live below the poverty line is 23%. Jobs based in Wilkes-Barre grew to 22,793 in 2023, 2,068 more than in 2013.
| Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
5 within 15 miles of the center of Wilkes-Barre
About 10 of every 100 Wilkes-Barre residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
2 colleges in town.
17 places in Wilkes-Barre on the National Register of Historic Places.
40 notable people were born in Wilkes-Barre.
City in Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre ( WILKS-bair(-ee) or WILKS-bar) is a city in Pennsylvania, which functions as both the administrative hub and the primary population center of Luzerne County. Located along the Susquehanna River in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had an estimated population of 44,523 in 2025. It is part of the Wyoming Valley metropolitan area, which includes five cities and more than 40 boroughs forming a contiguous urban corridor with an estimated 574,000 residents. Wilkes-Barre is surrounded by the Pocono Mountains to the east, the Endless Mountains to the north and west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The city was founded in 1769, incorporated as a borough in 1806, and re-incorporated as …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Wilkes-Barre.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre | #1019 | D | B− | C− | D | D |
| Plains Township | #994 | D | B− | B− | D | C− |
| Wilkes-Barre Township | #998 | D | B− | D− | D | C− |
| Kingston | #962 | C− | C+ | B− | C | C+ |
| Edwardsville | #1030 | D− | B− | — | C | D |
| Larksville | #993 | D | C+ | — | C | B− |
| Georgetown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hanover Township | #936 | C− | B− | B− | C− | C− |
Edwardsville and Larksville report no FBI crime data of their own. Georgetown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wilkes-Barre with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wilkes-Barre grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #1019 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
40 notable people were born here, including William Daniel Phillips and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
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