Borough · Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Luzerne, Pennsylvania

Luzerne is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, part of the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area. It has 2,723 residents. Luzerne, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 38 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,687 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #905 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), mental health care shortage (low) and primary care shortage (low). It ranks worst on adult smoking (high), dental care shortage (high) and median household income (low).

38Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,687 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #905 of 997 in PA
Population: 2,723 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 3,851.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 4245568

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety54#7,215/15,637
Economy7#14,461/15,631
Housing64#5,339/14,977
Health18#12,730/15,609
Healthcare61#6,054/15,650
Environment87#2,012/15,453
Education17#13,042/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,320/15,650
Community48#8,052/15,651
Leisure & amenities52#7,491/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Luzerne, Pennsylvania ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Luzerne County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low3 days
92/100Pennsylvania 7 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLuzerne County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Pennsylvania 1.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLuzerne County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Pennsylvania 1.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLuzerne County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.9%
85/100Pennsylvania 7.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100Pennsylvania 0.8%2022U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLuzerne County value
Mammography screening · high52.0%
81/100Pennsylvania 51.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLuzerne County value

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high22.5%
5/100Pennsylvania 15.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Pennsylvania 4.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLuzerne County value
Median household income · low$42,135
8/100Pennsylvania $77,532United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Child care cost burden · high40.0%
9/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLuzerne County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Pennsylvania 3.5United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLuzerne County value
Distance to an emergency room · high12.8 mi
11/100Pennsylvania 5.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLuzerne County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateWorsening
19.3% (2015-2019) → 46.4% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.9% (2015-2019) → 90.4% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.9% (2015-2019) → 35.6% (2020-2024)
−9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
91.0% (2015-2019) → 82.0% (2020-2024)
−9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
8.3% (2015-2019) → 2.9% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Average commute timeWorsening
16.3 min (2015-2019) → 20.4 min (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Luzerne, Pennsylvania improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+23 points66.9% → 90.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Luzerne, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	20.4 min2020-2024	+4.1 min	Within the margin of error	13%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.1%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Broadband subscriptions	66.9%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	94%
Effective property tax rate	1.51%2015-2019	1.38%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%
High school diploma or higher	91.0%2015-2019	82.0%2020-2024	−9 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	62%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4382015-2019	0.4742020-2024	+0.037	Within the margin of error	23%
Median household income	$36,2502015-2019	$42,1352020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	26%
Poverty rate	17.1%2015-2019	19.9%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.2%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Rent-burdened households	44.9%2015-2019	35.6%2020-2024	−9.3 points	Within the margin of error	81%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Luzerne, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Luzerne, Pennsylvania in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Luzerne, Pennsylvania itself moved −0.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,723 residents (±24)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,399 households (±129)

Luzerne, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k22%†313
$25k–50k38%525
$50k–75k10%†

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,399 households (±129)

Luzerne, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own59%824
Rent41%575

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,294 workers (±214)

Luzerne, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone73%941
Carpool6.7%†87
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Luzerne County, the county holding most of Luzerne's residents.

Luzerne County has 7,212 employer establishments, 219 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Pennsylvania's), with 139,382 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,376. The Census Bureau also counts 23,062 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 7,212; 23,062 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 219; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 139,382
Average annual pay: $52,376; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Luzerne County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	709	21.6	1.03×About typical	11,096	$77,367	867
Restaurants and other eating places	597	18.2	0.99×About typical	8,691	$18,819	254
Specialty trade contractors	380	11.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	2,711	$70,265	1,315
Full-service restaurants	294	8.9	1.16×About typical	4,510	$19,550	130
Offices of physicians	283	8.6	1.33×More than typical	4,347	$117,740	145
Limited-service restaurants	229	7	0.87×About typical	3,292	$18,564	94
Services to buildings and dwellings	219	6.7	0.99×About typical	1,411	$42,737	1,205
Lessors of real estate	189	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	638	$47,252	2,343
Truck transportation	189	5.8	1.14×About typical	2,481	$62,467	984
Religious organizations	182	5.5	1.00×About typical	769	$17,782	—
Offices of other health practitioners	179	5.4	0.90×About typical	930	$44,408	444
Personal care services	173	5.3	1.10×About typical	740	$24,634	1,100

Rank places for an industry Open Luzerne County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 328,684 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Luzerne, Pennsylvania: $581 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $1.6M; +121% vs FY2025
Per resident: $581; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$1.6M100%

Top recipients

TRANS-MED AMBULANCE INC.$1.6M100%

Spending by fiscal year

195.3KFY2017
3.5KFY2019
-15.3KFY2020
771.4KFY2021
13.6KFY2022
959.3KFY2023
964.8KFY2024
714.6KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$1.6M100%

Part of this section could not be loaded in time.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Luzerne, Pennsylvania, so they do not add up across cities.

Luzerne, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Luzerne County, PA ($634.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Luzerne is mostly in Luzerne County.

See federal money in Luzerne County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Luzerne, Pennsylvania is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Luzerne County57100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA61

Other cities and towns in Luzerne County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4245568

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends