Living in Wilkes-Barre, PA

Luzerne County

Wilkes-Barre is Scranton's real, distinct NEPA 'twin city' -- sharing the broader Wyoming Valley region, an anthracite-coal-mining heritage, the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton labor market, and the shared Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport -- while carrying its own genuinely distinct identity this record documents precisely. King's College and Wilkes University together give Wilkes-Barre a real, substantial dual higher-education presence: King's College's own administration building was originally built in 1913 as the Lehigh Valley Coal Company's headquarters, a real, distinctive architectural link to the region's anthracite past. Wilkes-Barre's single most consequential, historically documented hazard fact is the real, catastrophic 1972 Hurricane Agnes flood: the Susquehanna River levee was topped at 38.5 feet, breaching a dike and forcing a 4-day evacuation of the entire city, with flood elevations the highest ever recorded at the time. This record discloses honestly that Wilkes-Barre's own 2024 FBI-reported violent crime rate ran meaningfully above the national and Pennsylvania averages -- a real, genuine contrast from the more favorable current-year figures documented in the companion scranton.js and bethlehem.js records -- even as Wilkes-Barre's population has held essentially flat since 2020, a real, disclosed contrast to Scranton's own modest decline. Housing runs genuinely, substantially affordable, among the most affordable in the broader Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metro per one source, and healthcare access is real and deep via Wilkes-Barre General Hospital (Northeastern Pennsylvania's largest community hospital) and the separate Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center.

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Housing

Median sale price$179,000

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate1.98%

Not independently sourced at the Luzerne County level this session. Pennsylvania's top state income tax rate is 3.07%. See the Pennsylvania hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Wilkes-Barre-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

Genuinely affordable housing, among the most affordable in the broader Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metro; a real, essentially flat-to-modestly-growing population, a genuine contrast to Scranton's own decline; King's College and Wilkes University's real, substantial dual higher-education presence; deep healthcare access via Wilkes-Barre General Hospital (Northeastern Pennsylvania's largest community hospital) and the separate Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center; and a real, distinct anthracite-mining heritage genuinely separate from Scranton's own parallel history.

Cons

Wilkes-Barre's own 2024 FBI-reported violent crime rate ran meaningfully above the national and Pennsylvania averages, a real, disclosed contrast from the companion scranton.js and bethlehem.js records; its own effective property tax rate runs 37% above the Luzerne County average; its own cited combined local income tax (~3.00%) runs genuinely higher than the Act 511 1% default several other Pennsylvania municipalities observe; and Wilkes-Barre carries a real, historic, and severe flood-risk legacy from the catastrophic 1972 Hurricane Agnes flood, worth confirming directly for any property near the Susquehanna River.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits affordability-focused buyers and first-time homebuyers prioritizing genuinely low home prices, movers connected to King's College, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, or the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, and anyone drawn to the city's real, distinct anthracite-heritage identity and essentially stable recent population trend.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for anyone requiring a citywide violent-crime rate at or below the national average, given Wilkes-Barre's real, disclosed 2024 FBI figures; anyone unwilling to confirm current flood-insurance requirements directly for a property near the Susquehanna River, given the city's real, historic 1972 Hurricane Agnes flood; and anyone requiring rail-based, car-optional living, given AVP's genuinely limited service and Wilkes-Barre's car-dependent baseline.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-25. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.