Lackawanna County

History

Lackawanna County is a region that was developed for iron production and anthracite coal mining in the nineteenth century, with its peak of coal production reached in the mid-20th century. Scranton, then still part of Luzerne County, became a center of mining and industry. It was the site of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, which later began to produce steel using the Bessemer process. In 1877 at the time of the Scranton General Strike, the company was managed by William Walker Scranton, whose father had been president until his death in 1872. Two of his cousins had been founders of the company and the city.

The county was created on August 13, 1878, following decades of trying to gain its independence from Luzerne County. (The courts were organized in October 1878.) It is Pennsylvania's last county to be created, and the only one created after the American Civil War. It is named for the Lackawanna River.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 465 square miles (1,200 km2), of which 459 square miles (1,190 km2) is land and 5.8 square miles (15 km2) (1.3%) is water. It has a humid continental climate which is warm-summer (Dfb) except along the Lackawanna River from Olyphant and Blakely below Peckville on down and along the Susquehanna where it is hot-summer (Dfa). Average monthly temperatures in downtown Scranton range from 26.0 °F in January to 71.9 °F in July, in Carbondale they range from 23.8 °F in January to 69.7 °F in July, and in Moscow they range from 22.6 °F in January to 68.4 °F in July.

The hardiness zone is 6a in higher northern, eastern, and southern areas and 6b in most other areas except in Old Forge, lower areas of Moosic, and Scranton along the Lackawanna River to downtown where it is 7a. [1]

Adjacent counties

Susquehanna County (north)

Wayne County (east)

Monroe County (southeast)

Luzerne County (southwest)

Wyoming County (west)

Major highways

I-81

I-84

I-380

I-476

US 6

US 6 Bus. (Scranton)

US 11

PA 106

PA 107

PA 307

PA 348

PA 407

PA 435

PA 438

PA 502

PA 524

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 215,896 and the median age was 42.6 years. 19.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.8 males age 18 and over.

There were 88,745 households in the county, of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.1% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 99,815 housing units, of which 11.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 63.0% were owner-occupied and 37.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.2%.

82.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 17.6% lived in rural areas.

As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 82.9% White, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.9% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.5% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 214,437 people living in the county. 92.0% were White, 2.5% Black or African American, 1.7% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 2.0% of some other race and 1.5% of two or more races. 5.0% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 20.1% identified as of Italian, 19.9% Irish, 13.0% Polish and 11.4% German ancestry.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families living in the county. The population density was 465 inhabitants per square mile (180/km2). There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 units per square mile (80/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.65% White, 1.31% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 1.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.5% were of Italian, 21.2% Irish, 15.4% Polish and 10.2% German ancestry.

There were 86,218 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families; 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, 21.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

Politics and government

According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats hold a majority of the voters in Lackawanna County.

The Democratic Party has been historically dominant in county-level politics since the rise of new immigrant populations and their descendants since the mid-19th century. The county is part of Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district.

On the state and national levels, Lackawanna County has strongly favored the Democratic Party for the last ninety years. It leaned Republican from 1896 to 1924, only failing to back William Howard Taft during that timespan when the party's vote was split between him and former president Theodore Roosevelt. The county has only voted for the Republican candidate three times since 1928: in the national Republican landslides of 1956, 1972, and 1984. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won 60% of the vote and Republican George W. Bush won 36%. In 2004 Democrat John Kerry received 56% of the vote and Bush received 42%. In 2006, Democrats Governor Ed Rendell and Senator Bob Casey, Jr., won 70% and 73% of the vote in Lackawanna County, respectively. In 2008 three of four Democrats running statewide carried the county, with Barack Obama receiving 63% of the county vote to 37% for John McCain. Although Obama easily carried Lackawanna County again in 2012, Donald Trump came very close to beating Hillary Clinton in 2016. However, in 2020, Lackawanna County voted for Joe Biden, a native son of the county, by over 8 points, an improvement over Clinton's margin but not as high as either of Obama's. In Lackawanna County, Democratic strength primarily comes from the city of Scranton and its immediate suburbs, while Republicans do better in the more rural, outer parts of the county.

United States House of Representatives

As of January 3, 2025:

United States Senate

As of January 3, 2025:

State House of Representatives

As of January 13, 2023:

State senate

As of March 29, 2021:

Education

Lackawanna County Workforce investment Board - Scranton

Colleges and universities

Johnson College

Keystone College (also in Wyoming County)

Lackawanna College

Marywood University

Penn State Scranton

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

University of Scranton

Public K-12 schools

They include:

Abington Heights School District

Carbondale Area School District

Dunmore School District

Forest City Regional School District (also in Susquehanna and Wayne Counties)

Lackawanna Trail School District (also in Wyoming County)

Lakeland School District

Mid Valley School District

North Pocono School District (also in Wayne County)

Old Forge School District

Riverside School District

Scranton School District

Valley View School District

Fell Charter Elementary School, Simpson, GR K-8

Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School, Scranton, GR PreK-8

Scranton School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children – public charter school offering pre-K through 12th-grade education to eligible deaf and hard-of-hearing children located in South Abington Township, Pennsylvania

Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County

Scranton State School for the Deaf was in the county until it closed in 2009.

Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit #19 (NEIU19) provides a wide variety of specialized services to public and private schools. It serves the school communities of Lackawanna County, Wayne County, and Susquehanna County. NEIU19 is governed by a board of appointed officials one from the elected school board of each member public school district. Among the serves are: professional development programs for school employees, background/criminal screening of public school employment applicants, technology support to the schools, and special education services. The Intermediate Unit coordinates and supervises the Special Education transportation.

Diocesan schools

The county is also served by the Diocese of Scranton. The Diocese of Scranton operates four regional systems of diocesan schools, which were established after the area received hundreds of thousands of Catholic immigrants. The Holy Cross School System serves Lackawanna County, and is currently composed of seven elementary centers and one secondary center. The Holy Cross System is the second-largest of the four systems, and Holy Cross High School is the only diocesan high school operating a capacity. The Holy Cross System is the result of diocese-wide consolidations made in 2007 in response to decades of declining enrollment as population declined in the area.

As recently as 2000, Lackawanna County was home to four Catholic high schools and nearly fifteen elementary schools. While the current configuration of sites and schools educates a fraction of the students once enrolled in Catholic schools in Lackawanna County, vast improvements have been made to the curriculum. Millions of dollars of capital gains have been invested in the buildings and technologies of the schools. As part of the ongoing effort to stabilize enrollment and offer a sustainable school system which is "spiritually sound and academically excellent", the Holy Cross System is embarking on a more aggressive advertising campaign to promote Catholic education and establish stronger and more diverse programs at the elementary level.

Sacred Heart Elementary in Carbondale and Marian Catholic Elementary in Scranton were closed in 2011 and were incorporated into LaSalle Academy and All Saint's Academy, respectively. This cut the costs of sustaining two faculties and buildings which collectively operated at less than 50% capacity. It bolstered the enrollments of the hubs of elementary education.

Holy Cross High School, Dunmore

Our Lady of Peace Elementary, Clarks Green

St. Mary of Mount Carmel Elementary, Dunmore

LaSalle Academy, Dickson City and Jessup

All Saints Academy, Scranton

St. Clare/St. Paul Elementary, Scranton

Private schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education:

Abington Christian School, Clarks Green, GR PreK-8 (Affiliated with the Assemblies of God)

Bais Yaakov of Scranton, GR 9-12 (All girls Jewish school)

DePaul School for Dyslexia, Scranton

Friendship House

Geneva Christian School, Olyphant, GR PreK-8

Giant Steps Child Development Center – Carbondale

Kinder Kampus Preparatory Preschool, Archbald, PreK

Little People Daycare School, Scranton, GR PreK-KG

Lourdesmont School, Scranton, Special Education (Roman Catholic)

Lutheran Academy – Scranton, GR PreK-6

Marywood – Tony Damiano Early Childhood Center, Scranton, GR PreK-KG

Milton Eisner Yeshiva High School, Scranton, GR 9-12 (All boys Jewish school)

Montessori Kindergarten, Scranton, GR PreK-KG

New Story, Throop, Special Education

NHS Autism School, Scranton, Special Education

Northeast Child Care Services – Archbald

Pocono Mountain Bible Conference – Gouldsboro

Libraries

Abington Community Library – Clarks Summit

Carbondale Public Library – Carbondale

Children's Library – Scranton

Dalton Community Library – Dalton

Nancy Kay Holmes Branch – Scranton

North Pocono Public Library – Moscow

Scranton Public Library – Scranton

Taylor Community Library – Taylor

Valley Community Library – Peckville

Waverly Memorial Library – Waverly

Recreation

Montage Mountain Ski Area

Lackawanna State Park

Archbald Pothole State Park

The Dick and Nancy Eales Preserve at Moosic Mountain

Pinchot Trail System

Steamtown National Historic Site

Electric City Trolley Museum

Viewmont Mall

Lake Scranton

Electric City Aquarium and Reptile Den

Lackawanna County Courthouse Square (Downtown Scranton)

Everhart Museum

Scranton Iron Furnaces

Houdini Museum

Scranton Cultural Center

Shoppes at Montage

The Marketplace at Steamtown

The Pavilion (Scranton, PA)

Lackawanna River Heritage Trail

Lake Scranton Walking Trail

The Pavilion at Montage Mountain

PNC Field

Merli-Sarnoski Park

Nay Aug Park

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and one town. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Lackawanna County:

Cities

Carbondale

Scranton (county seat)

Census-designated places

Big Bass Lake (partially in Wayne County)

Chinchilla

Eagle Lake

Glenburn

Mount Cobb

Simpson

Waverly

Unincorporated communities

Daleville

Milwaukee

Winton

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Lackawanna County.

† county seat