Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 6,074 jobs. A town of 3,236, settled in 1769.
More weak spots than strong ones. Its lowest grade is for safety — its police reported 16 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 100% of U.S. towns. It lags on schools as well — its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. On walkability it is strong (A−): it is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $116K, 1.8 years of the Scranton metro’s $65K median household income. The overall grade comes out at D, 998th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Set against the rest, it does better than just over a tenth of U.S. towns. Wilkes-Barre Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Wilkes-Barre Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 1%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Wilkes-Barre Township beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
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 7 maps from 1891 on.
Ordered by what stands out in Wilkes-Barre Township.
Wilkes-Barre Township draws workers from Wilkes-Barre and beyond and is mostly renters, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Pennsylvania rate.
Violent crime runs at 5 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Pennsylvania rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 119.5 per 1,000 residents, 9 times the Pennsylvania rate, most of it theft.
Wilkes-Barre Township’s level of violent crime stands at 5 per 1,000 residents, against 0.7 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns.
| Wilkes-Barre Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 119.5 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
6,074 jobs are based in Wilkes-Barre Township, 4.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
For half of commuters, work is under 5 miles away. Wilkes-Barre Township’s typical household income stands at $68,000, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at $81,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Only 8% of working residents stay in Wilkes-Barre Township for work; the rest commute out. The top destinations are Wilkes-Barre (20%), Plains Township (10%) and Hanover Township (7%).
| Wilkes-Barre Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $68,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Wilkes-Barre Township, the FEMA risk score is 7 of 100. Expected losses in Wilkes-Barre Township break down as 65% from inland flooding and 11% from cold waves. Since 1979, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Nearly a quarter of Wilkes-Barre Township adults say their health is fair or poor. In Wilkes-Barre Township, just over two in five adults sleep under 7 hours, and 16% report frequent physical distress.
| Wilkes-Barre Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Wilkes-Barre Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 11.9% | 5.8% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 24.4% | 18.7% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 30.9% | 23.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For Wilkes-Barre Township, the July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest park or preserve is Pinchot State Forest, at 108 acres. Parks and preserves in Wilkes-Barre Township: 5, covering 117 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pinchot State Forest | — | 108 |
| 2. Kennedy Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Al Karaska Memorial Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wilkes-Barre Township. Close and well known come first.
15 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
35 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
22 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
16 mi State parkHickory Run State Park
29 mi Ski areaCamelback Mountain Resort37 runs · 804 ft vertical11 mi Theme parkRocky Glen ParkSteamtown 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 Township, 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.
Where Wilkes-Barre Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 within 15 miles of the center of Wilkes-Barre Township
About 1 of every 100 Wilkes-Barre Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
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)
3 towns share a border with Wilkes-Barre Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre Township | #998 | D | B− | D− | D | C− |
| Laurel Run | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wilkes-Barre | #1019 | D | B− | C− | D | D |
| Georgetown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Laurel Run and Georgetown aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wilkes-Barre Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wilkes-Barre Township grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #998 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety 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−.
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