Best PlacesMonroe County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Monroe County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Monroe County ranks 1,159th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $86,268, everyday costs sit below the national average, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are long commutes, an overheated housing market, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Monroe 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 Monroe County
The parts of Monroe 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.
Bartonsville & Tannersville
Commutes are shorter, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
East Stroudsburg
Fewer homes sit empty.
Saylorsburg
Crime runs lower, though fewer households have young kids.
Effort & Kunkletown
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Long Pond, Blakeslee & Indian Mountain Lake
Tree cover is thicker, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Stroudsburg
Streets are more walkable, though homes cost more.
Tobyhanna
Health care is harder to reach.
Pocono Lake
Advertised internet is faster, though health outcomes score lower.
Scores across Monroe County run from about the 8th to the 88th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Monroe County's strengths and weaknesses
Monroe County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Heat safety is the standout, in the top 3% of counties. Big-city access and tree cover follow.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and property taxes also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Monroe County ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of counties
- Household income$86,268 median, better than 83% of counties
Where Monroe County ranks low
- Short commute38.1 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Monroe County
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Monroe County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,268, 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 Monroe County's effective rate of 1.64%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Monroe County
Monroe County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Monroe County.
Who works in Monroe County, and how
Work in Monroe 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 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Monroe County
Monroe County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 84% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Monroe County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Monroe County growing, and who is moving in?
Monroe County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from New York, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Monroe County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Monroe County, month by month
Monroe County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 81° | 70° | 59° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Monroe County
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around Monroe County
Schools across Monroe County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hamilton Twp El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Wallenpaupack South El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Tobyhanna El CtrA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Swiftwater Interm SchA+ · 80% proficient
- North Pocono MsA · 65% proficient
- Pleasant Valley MsB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- North Pocono HsA+ · 95% proficient
- Stroudsburg HsA · 70% proficient
- Pocono Mountain West HsB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Monroe County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Monroe 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 Monroe County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Monroe County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Monroe County
Is Monroe County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Monroe County ranks 1,159th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on heat safety, big-city access, and tree cover, and lowest on long commutes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Monroe County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,696. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $86,268 median income, cost of living beats 79% of counties.
Is Monroe County safe?
Yes, Monroe County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Monroe County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 17. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Monroe County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bartonsville & Tannersville, East Stroudsburg, and Saylorsburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Monroe County good for families?
Schools beat 75% of counties, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $788 a month.
Is Monroe County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 78% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Monroe County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Monroe County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Monroe 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.
Monroe County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Monroe County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Monroe County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Monroe County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Monroe County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Monroe 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.