2022 population: 1,505,309 ( 27,018 from 2010 , 2,349 from 2020)
Land area: 10493.7 square miles
Population density: 143.4 persons per square mile

2022 Census data
White:	1,245,037	82.71%	9.1%
Black:	67,777	4.50%	25.1%
Indian:	2,521	0.17%	24.0%
Asian:	22,248	1.48%	48.4%
2+ races:	22,881	1.52%	37.8%
Hispanic:	144,845	9.62%	97.8%

Total non-White:	260,272	17.29%	60.1%

2020-2022 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	31,765	10.5
Deaths:	46,598	15.5
Net Migration:	9,562	3.2
Net Immigration:	2,628	0.9

Change in White population:	-124,716	-8.1
Change in Non-White pop.:	97,698	6.4

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2010
1,532,327
1,369,753	89.39%
54,189	3.54%
2,033	0.13%
14,987	0.98%
16,605	1.08%
73,222	4.78%
162,574	10.61%

2000
1,481,798
1,405,509	94.85%
30,840	2.08%
1,786	0.12%
8,600	0.58%
9,220	0.62%
24,959	1.68%
76,289	5.15%

1990
1,434,255
1,404,002	97.89%
12,672	0.88%
1,608	0.11%
6,475	0.45%
n/a
9,498	0.66%
30,253	2.11%

1980
1,425,989
1,407,589	98.71%
7,647	0.54%
613	0.04%
3,862	0.27%
n/a
5,911	0.41%
18,400	1.29%

1970
1,359,123
1,348,507	99.22%
6,775	0.50%
340	0.03%
1,036	0.08%
n/a
1,844	0.14%
10,616	0.78%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2000's
143,510	9.7
162,285	11.0
35,502	2.4
6,277	0.4

-35,756	-2.4
86,285	5.8

Number	Rate
1990's
161,284	11.2
172,194	12.0
16,838	1.2
5,170	0.4

1,507	0.1
46,036	3.2

Number	Rate
1980's
175,915	12.3
164,602	11.5
4,998	0.4
n/a

-3,587	-0.3
11,853	0.8

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
31,840	2.3
n/a

59,082	4.3
7,784	0.6

Age, Family & Household Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
43.1
297,236	19.7%
1,208,073	80.3%
307,110	20.4%

596,735
2.42

381,545	63.9%
279,062	73.1%
36,437	9.5%
215,190	36.1%

2010
Number	Percent
42.1
318,627	20.8%
1,213,700	79.2%
260,755	17.0%

609,363
2.41

398,664	65.4%
300,608	75.4%
36,164	9.1%
210,699	34.6%

2000
Number	Percent
?
666,566	45.0%
815,232	55.0%
519,062	35.0%

1,166,128
2.43

788,174	67.6%
629,152	79.8%
58,862	7.5%
377,954	32.4%

1990
Number	Percent
36.6
332,079	23.2%
1,102,176	76.8%
252,421	17.6%

546,087
2.54

390,026	71.4%
319,740	82.0%
23,875	6.1%
156,061	28.6%

1980
Number	Percent
34.1
368,909	25.9%
1,057,080	74.1%
213,686	15.0%

511,522
2.71

386,565	75.6%
324,160	83.9%
19,807	5.1%
124,957	24.4%

2022 Housing Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	28,030	4.7%
$10,000 to $14,999	26,631	4.5%
$15,000 to $19,999	26,300	4.4%
$20,000 to $24,999	27,224	4.6%
$25,000 to $29,999	26,692	4.5%
$30,000 to $34,999	27,053	4.5%
$35,000 to $39,999	24,711	4.1%
$40,000 to $44,999	25,909	4.3%
$45,000 to $49,999	24,496	4.1%
$50,000 to $59,999	46,016	7.7%
$60,000 to $74,999	59,516	10.0%
$75,000 to $99,999	81,732	13.7%
$100,000 to $124,999	59,384	10.0%
$125,000 to $149,999	39,477	6.6%
$150,000 to $199,999	41,465	6.9%
$200,000 or more	32,099	5.4%

Median Household Income	63,968
Per Capita Income	33,795

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to U.S.	84

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	33,966	5.7%
Public Assistance	20,324	3.4%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	95,624	16.0%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	594,086	69.2%
Unemployed	32,702	3.8%
In Armed Forces	653	0.1%

Total Labor Force	627,441	73.1%
Not in Labor Force	231,428	26.9%

Real Unemployment Rate		30.8%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	264,440	215,224	55.1%
Non-Profit	24,275	49,531	32.9%
Self-Employed	36,714	18,089	67.0%

Local Government	18,974	25,855	42.3%
State Government	14,100	11,633	54.8%
Federal Government	9,323	6,207	60.0%

Total Private + Self	301,154	233,313	56.3%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	66,672	93,226	41.7%
Total	367,826	326,539	53.0%

Pct. Govt.	12.4%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	84,633	12.2%
Sales and Office Occupations	140,437	20.2%
Professional, Technical	148,842	21.4%
Service Occupations	121,715	17.5%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	3,528	0.5%
All others	200,238	28.8%

White Collar		53.7%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	118,320	17.0%
Manufacturing	92,831	13.3%
Retail trade	84,847	12.2%
Educational services	59,865	8.6%
Construction	46,141	6.6%
Accommodation and food services	43,768	6.3%
Transportation and warehousing	41,079	5.9%
Other services	32,451	4.7%
Public administration	31,839	4.6%
Professional, scientific, technical	28,858	4.1%
Finance and insurance	25,075	3.6%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	24,365	3.5%
Wholesale trade	17,865	2.6%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	11,559	1.7%
Information	8,772	1.3%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	7,813	1.1%
Utilities	7,694	1.1%
Real estate and rental and leasing	7,645	1.1%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	4,293	0.6%
Management	785	0.1%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	19,240	1.28%
Puerto Rican	48,078	3.19%
Cuban	1,995	0.13%
Dominican	31,050	2.06%

Total Central American	8,049	0.53%
Costa Rican	182	0.01%
Guatemalan	1,764	0.12%
Honduran	2,702	0.18%
Nicaraguan	475	0.03%
Panamanian	580	0.04%
Salvadoran	2,178	0.14%
Other Central American	168	0.01%

Total South American	11,205	0.74%
Argentinean	499	0.03%
Bolivian	174	0.01%
Chilean	660	0.04%
Colombian	3,190	0.21%
Ecuadorian	4,143	0.27%
Paraguayan	4	0.00%
Peruvian	1,607	0.11%
Uruguayan	245	0.02%
Venezuelan	683	0.05%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	9,603	0.64%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Indian	6,527	0.43%
Chinese	2,827	0.19%
Filipino	2,543	0.17%
Korean	1,747	0.12%
Vietnamese	1,096	0.07%
Bangladeshi	520	0.03%
Japanese	421	0.03%
Thai	262	0.02%
Hmong	226	0.01%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	1,305,373	91.1%
Spanish	77,162	5.4%
Other Indo-European	13,923	1.0%
German, other Germanic	12,584	0.9%
Russian, Polish, other Slavic	8,272	0.6%
Other Asian	3,485	0.2%
French, Haitian, Cajun	2,937	0.2%
Other	2,405	0.2%
Chinese	2,329	0.2%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	339,314	22.5%
Irish	239,965	15.9%
Italian	178,286	11.8%
Polish	148,239	9.8%
English	113,280	7.5%
American	67,478	4.5%
Welsh	35,237	2.3%
Dutch	28,689	1.9%
Slovak	26,413	1.8%
Russian	24,549	1.6%
Pennsylvania German	21,668	1.4%
Lithuanian	21,054	1.4%
French	20,266	1.3%
Scottish	16,460	1.1%
Ukrainian	12,877	0.9%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	1,475,638	97.8%
Not a citizen	32,818	2.2%

Native	1,433,874	95.1%
Foreign-born	74,582	4.9%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
31,320	2.9%	72,193	6.7%	435,533	40.6%	279,395	26.0%	158,538	14.8%	96,450	9.0%
Average years of education: 13.2

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	31,320	2.9%
9-12 Years	72,193	6.7%
H.S. Grad or GED	435,533	40.6%
Some College	279,395	26.0%
Bach. Degree	158,538	14.8%
Grad Degree	96,450	9.0%
Average years of education: 13.2

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	686,267	635,221	51,046	7.4%
1991	686,251	625,089	61,162	8.9%
1992	695,225	629,957	65,268	9.4%
1993	692,308	634,038	58,270	8.4%
1994	693,688	639,077	54,611	7.9%
1995	693,378	641,161	52,217	7.5%
1996	697,590	646,258	51,332	7.4%
1997	703,091	653,864	49,227	7.0%
1998	697,878	654,961	42,917	6.1%
1999	699,117	660,034	39,083	5.6%

2000	719,466	685,186	34,280	4.8%
2001	726,909	687,159	39,750	5.5%
2002	731,568	686,435	45,133	6.2%
2003	724,805	679,485	45,320	6.3%
2004	737,593	692,680	44,913	6.1%
2005	744,738	703,565	41,173	5.5%
2006	748,420	708,973	39,447	5.3%
2007	756,145	717,711	38,434	5.1%
2008	767,208	720,787	46,421	6.1%
2009	762,443	695,263	67,180	8.8%

2010	749,446	681,234	68,212	9.1%
2011	752,160	686,848	65,312	8.7%
2012	759,350	693,164	66,186	8.7%
2013	753,393	691,112	62,281	8.3%
2014	745,088	694,525	50,563	6.8%
2015	743,529	697,701	45,828	6.2%
2016	743,055	698,617	44,438	6.0%
2017	736,048	694,995	41,053	5.6%
2018	733,013	695,592	37,421	5.1%
2019	735,318	696,577	38,741	5.3%

2020	722,931	653,921	69,010	9.5%
2021	726,060	678,578	47,482	6.5%
2022	728,489	692,413	36,076	5.0%
2023	732,979	704,335	28,644	3.9%
2024	724,433	694,886	29,547	4.1%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	717,681
Median Value	$174,214

Occupied	596,735	83.1%
Vacant	120,946	16.9%

Owned	428,546	71.8%
Rented	168,189	28.2%
Median Rent	$923

Single-Family Units	568,449	79.2%
Detached	495,192	69.0%
Attached	73,257	10.2%
Buldings with 5+ Units	46,979	6.5%
Mobile Homes	36,435	5.1%

Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

2022 Housing Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

2022 Income & Employment Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area

Historical Labor Force Data for Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA Market Area