Best PlacesLuzerne County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Luzerne County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Luzerne County ranks 1,063rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on property taxes and noise. It does better on walkability, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Luzerne County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Luzerne County
The parts of Luzerne County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Dallas, Shavertown & Luzerne
Schools score higher, more adults hold degrees, and fewer homes sit empty.
Harveys Lake
Tree cover is thicker and it is quieter.
Pittston, Exeter & West Pittston
Prices have run up less, though fewer households have young kids.
Wilkes-Barre
Biking is better.
Hazleton & Freeland
Streets are more walkable, though health care is harder to reach.
Nanticoke, Hunlock Creek & Shickshinny
Homes cost less, though commutes are longer.
West Hazleton, Drums & Sugarloaf
Scores close to Nanticoke, Hunlock Creek & Shickshinny, except that disaster risk is lower here.
White Haven
More residents vote, though advertised internet is slower.
Luzerne County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 7% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Luzerne County's strengths and weaknesses
Luzerne County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Walkability is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Big-city access and fast internet follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Property taxes, noise, and state infrastructure hold the score down. Cost swings more from one part of Luzerne County to another than it does between Luzerne County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Luzerne County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 82% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of counties
Where Luzerne County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 12% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Luzerne County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Luzerne County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,115, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Luzerne County's effective rate of 1.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Luzerne County
Luzerne County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Luzerne County.
Who works in Luzerne County, and how
Work in Luzerne County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Luzerne County
Luzerne County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Luzerne County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Luzerne County growing, and who is moving in?
Luzerne County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from New York, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Luzerne County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Luzerne County, month by month
Luzerne County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Luzerne County
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around Luzerne County
Schools across Luzerne County average a B, better than 77% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Dana El CtrA+ · 75% proficient
- Dallas Intermediate SchA · 71% proficient
- Solomon/plains El SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wyoming Area Intermediate CtrA+ · 75% proficient
- Dallas MsB+ · 49% proficient
- Wyoming Valley West MsB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Pittston Area ShsA+ · 98% proficient
- Wilkes-barre Area Sd Stem AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
- Dallas ShsA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Luzerne County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Luzerne County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Luzerne County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Luzerne County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Luzerne County
Is Luzerne County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Luzerne County ranks 1,063rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, big-city access, and fast internet, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Luzerne County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,267. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $69,115 median income, cost of living beats 56% of counties.
Is Luzerne County safe?
Luzerne County is safer than 53% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Luzerne County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 21. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 19% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Luzerne County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Dallas, Shavertown & Luzerne, Harveys Lake, and Pittston, Exeter & West Pittston. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Luzerne County good for families?
Schools beat 77% of counties, crime safety beats 53%, and childcare runs $828 a month.
Is Luzerne County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 56% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 92% of counties. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare Luzerne County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Luzerne County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Luzerne County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Luzerne County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Luzerne County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Luzerne County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Luzerne County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Luzerne County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Luzerne County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.