Best PlacesScranton, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Scranton, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Scranton ranks 19,336th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Scranton
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.
Scranton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Scranton ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 95% of towns
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 85% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 83% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 78% of towns
Where Scranton ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 25% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Scranton
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Scranton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,138, 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 Scranton's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Scranton
Scranton's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Scranton.
Who works in Scranton, and how
Work in Scranton centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Scranton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Scranton.
What the weather is like in Scranton, month by month
Scranton sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Scranton
The nearest airport, Fort Smith Regional, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 202 miles away.
The best schools in and around Scranton
Schools across Scranton average a C+, better than 42% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Paris Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Scranton Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Paris Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Scranton High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Paris High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Scranton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Scranton 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 Scranton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Scranton
Is Scranton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Scranton ranks 19,336th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on summer heat and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Scranton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,063. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $77,138 median income, cost of living beats 72% of towns.
Is Scranton safe?
Yes, Scranton is safer than 83% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $303 per resident a year.
Compare Scranton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Scranton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Scranton 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.
Scranton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Scranton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Scranton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Scranton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Scranton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Scranton 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.
- 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.