Carbon County, Pennsylvania

Carbon County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 33 miles northwest of
Allentown. It had a population of 64,749 at the 2020 census, an estimated 65,868 by 2025, and
covers 387 square miles (1,000 km2) centred near 40°55′N 75°42′W.

Jim Thorpe is the county seat; its postal code is 18229. The county holds 12 boroughs, 6
census-designated places and 11 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time.

Towns & Villages in Carbon County

Carbon County has 18 named places on record: 12 incorporated boroughs and 6 unincorporated
census-designated places (CDPs). Borough is Pennsylvania’s term for a self-governing
municipality; CDPs have no local government of their own and are grouped here by the township
that surrounds them.

Three places share a ZIP code with a neighbor. Weissport borough and Weissport East CDP both
use 18235, the Lehighton post office code, though they are separate places on opposite banks of
the Lehigh River. Albrightsville and Holiday Pocono both use 18210, and both sit astride the
Kidder–Penn Forest township line; Albrightsville itself is split between the two townships.
Indian Mountain Lake is the largest place in the county by population after the seat, but most of
its land and the bulk of its residents are in Carbon’s Penn Forest Township — a smaller
share of the CDP extends east into Monroe County’s Tunkhannock and Chestnuthill townships, so
its population count here reflects only the Carbon County portion’s registration under one
combined CDP figure.

Townships

Pennsylvania keeps civil townships as a separate layer of government outside the boroughs;
each of the 11 below elects its own supervisors. Population figures are shown only where a 2020
census count for the township specifically was available.

Most Carbon County townships have not had a standalone 2020 population figure confirmed
against a Census source at the time of writing, so those cells read — rather than carry
over an outdated 2010 count.

ZIP Codes

• 18229 — Jim Thorpe
• 18071 — Palmerton
• 18235 — Lehighton (also serves Weissport borough and Weissport East CDP)
• 18232 — Lansford
• 18240 — Nesquehoning
• 18250 — Summit Hill
• 18255 — Weatherly
• 18216 — Beaver Meadows
• 18030 — Bowmanstown
• 18244 — Parryville
• 18661 — East Side
• 18210 — Albrightsville (also serves Holiday Pocono and Towamensing Trails)
• 18254 — Tresckow

Indian Mountain Lake has no dedicated ZIP of its own; mail there is delivered under
neighboring Penn Forest Township post office codes.

Geography

Carbon County sits in the ridge-and-valley country of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Coal
Region, where parallel forested ridges run northeast to southwest across the county. Of its 387
square miles, 381 are land and 5.9 are water, about 1.5 percent. The Lehigh River, a 109-mile
branch of the Delaware River, runs the length of the county from north to south, and the Lehigh
Gorge along its upper stretch is the county’s most dramatic landform. Blue Mountain forms
Carbon’s southern border, separating it from the Lehigh Valley.

Luzerne County lies to the north, Monroe County to the east, Northampton County to the
southeast, Lehigh County to the south, and Schuylkill County to the southwest. Luzerne County, Monroe County, Northampton County, Lehigh County and Schuylkill County all border Carbon
directly.

Demographics

Carbon County had a population of 64,749 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 65,868 residents by 2025. Palmerton and Lehighton are the two largest incorporated
boroughs, each holding over 5,000 residents, while Indian Mountain Lake is the largest single
community of any kind outside the boroughs. Median household income runs about $67,554 per Data
USA, below Pennsylvania’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of $73,824. Population density works
out to roughly 170 people per square mile of land, moderate for a county this far from a major
metro core.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
4,830 workers, followed by retail trade at 3,972 and manufacturing at 3,698. Palmerton’s
economy grew up around zinc: the New Jersey Zinc Company opened a smelting plant there in 1912
to use the anthracite coal mined just north of town, and zinc production stayed the borough’s
main employer until the operation closed in 1980. Jim Thorpe has rebuilt its economy on tourism,
trading on its intact 19th-century architecture, the Asa Packer and Harry Packer mansions, and
outdoor recreation along the Lehigh Gorge, including whitewater rafting releases from the
Francis E. Walter Dam upstream. The county’s rail-trail network, including the
Delaware & Lehigh Trail that follows the old canal and railroad bed through the gorge, draws
cyclists and hikers from across the region.

History

Pennsylvania’s legislature organized Carbon County on 13 March 1843, carving it out of
Northampton and Monroe counties. The name comes from the anthracite coal deposits found across
the region; a homesteader named Phillip Ginter is credited with discovering a coal outcropping
here in 1791. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, founded in 1822, built a canal down the
Lehigh River to move that coal to market and helped drive the early American Industrial
Revolution. In 1827 the company built the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, an 8.7-mile gravity
railroad that hauled coal downhill by gravity and later carried thrill-seeking passengers —
it is often cited as the first roller coaster in the United States.

The county seat was founded in 1818 as Mauch Chunk. In the 19th century Carbon County was the
site of trials and executions connected to the Molly Maguires, an Irish secret society accused of
violence against coal-company officials during a period of labor unrest in the anthracite
region. In 1954 Mauch Chunk merged with the borough of East Mauch Chunk across the river and
renamed itself Jim Thorpe, after the Olympic athlete had died that year; the borough obtained his
remains and built a memorial and tomb, even though Thorpe never lived in or visited the town.

Getting There

Interstate 80 crosses the county’s northern edge, and Interstate 476, the Pennsylvania
Turnpike’s Northeast Extension, runs north–south through the eastern part of the
county. US 209 is the main north–south route through Jim Thorpe and the Lehigh Gorge.

• Allentown — about 30 miles south
• Wilkes-Barre — about 30 miles northwest
• Scranton — about 40 miles north
• Stroudsburg — about 25 miles east

Lehigh Valley International Airport and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport are the
nearest commercial airports, both roughly equidistant from the county. Jake Arner Memorial
Airport in Lehighton handles general aviation. Carbon County has no active Amtrak station; Martz
Trailways buses connect Jim Thorpe to Amtrak Thruway service at 30th Street Station in
Philadelphia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Carbon County located?
It sits in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, about 33 miles northwest of Allentown,
bordered by Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh and Schuylkill counties.

What is the population of Carbon County?
64,749 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 65,868.

How big is Carbon County?
387 square miles (1,000 km2), of which 381 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Carbon County?
Jim Thorpe is the county seat, founded in 1818 as Mauch Chunk and renamed in 1954.

How many towns are in Carbon County?
Twelve boroughs — Jim Thorpe, Palmerton, Lehighton, Lansford, Nesquehoning, Summit Hill,
Weatherly, Beaver Meadows, Bowmanstown, Parryville, Weissport and East Side — plus six
census-designated places and 11 townships.

What ZIP codes does Carbon County use?
18229 for Jim Thorpe, 18071 for Palmerton, 18235 for Lehighton and Weissport, and separate codes
for each of the other boroughs, listed above.

What is Carbon County known for?
The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, often called America’s first roller coaster, the Molly
Maguires trials, and Jim Thorpe’s Olympic-athlete namesake and memorial.

Is there whitewater rafting in Carbon County?
Yes — the Lehigh Gorge above Jim Thorpe is a regional rafting destination, especially on
dam-release days from the Francis E. Walter Dam upstream in Luzerne County.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Pennsylvania.