county

Lackawanna County, PA

Demographic and economic profile of Lackawanna County, PA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Lackawanna County, anchored by Scranton, has a workforce of roughly 130,000 in a county of 216,859 residents, with 30.1% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $40,779—below national averages, reflecting a relatively lower-cost labor market. Housing costs are modest, with a median home value of $189,900 and median gross rent of $973 per month, while a mean commute of 21.2 minutes points to a compact, accessible geography. The county posted 2.1% population growth over five years alongside a 4.7% unemployment rate and 60.0% labor force participation, with GDP per capita at $47,479.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

216,859

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$66,223

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.1% since 2018

Lackawanna County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone175,665 (81.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race10,739 (5.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone8,784 (4.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races7,446 (3.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone6,807 (3.1%)
  • Asian Alone6,465 (3.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish11,181
  2. 2.Other Indo-European4,382
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island1,200
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic1,077
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic494

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

10,153

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$47,479

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,217

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance27,883
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)12,840
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)10,081
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services8,718
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services8,112

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations39,074
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations20,273
  3. 3.Service Occupations17,418
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations16,229
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations7,448

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.30×)3,037
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.18×)27,882
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.16×)12,766
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.12×)6,618
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.06×)5,071

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$189,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$973/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

65.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,99910,371 (18.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9996,545 (11.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9996,468 (11.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9995,398 (9.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9994,735 (8.2%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9994,603 (8.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

30.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,779

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone75,124 (75.9%)
  • Worked At Home9,937 (10.0%)
  • Carpooled9,161 (9.3%)
  • Walked2,984 (3.0%)
  • Other709 (0.7%)
  • Public Transit578 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Lackawanna County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.