Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania

Lackawanna County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States, about 120 miles north of
Philadelphia and 20 miles northeast of Wilkes-Barre. It had a population of 215,896 at the 2020
census, an estimated 216,859 by 2025, and covers 459 square miles (1,189 km2) centred near
41°26′N 75°37′W.

Scranton is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 18503. The county holds 2
cities, 17 incorporated boroughs and 7 census-designated places across 20 townships, and it runs
on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 42069.

Towns & Villages in Lackawanna County

Lackawanna County has 26 named places on record: 2 cities, 17 incorporated boroughs and 7
census-designated places with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated
place; Unincorp. covers named communities inside a township with no formal boundary.

Two places on this list need a note. Throop and Dunmore share the 18512 ZIP because Throop’s
own post office closed decades ago and its mail now routes through Dunmore. Big Bass Lake is a
seasonal community whose boundary crosses into Wayne County; the 1,337 figure above is the CDP
total across both counties, not the Lackawanna share alone.

Townships

Pennsylvania townships are unincorporated but have their own elected boards and public
services; the figures below are township-wide, including any borough-adjacent growth areas but
excluding land inside an incorporated borough or city.

ZIP Codes

• 18503 — Scranton (city center; also 18501, 18502, 18504, 18505, 18508, 18509, 18510, 18519, 18540 and 18577, mostly PO box and downtown-district ZIPs)
• 18407 — Carbondale (also serves Simpson)
• 18512 — Dunmore (also serves Throop)
• 18518 — Old Forge
• 18403 — Archbald
• 18452 — Blakely (Peckville post office)
• 18517 — Taylor
• 18519 — Dickson City
• 18507 — Moosic
• 18447 — Olyphant
• 18411 — Clarks Summit (also serves Clarks Green and Glenburn)
• 18434 — Jessup
• 18433 — Jermyn (also serves Mayfield)
• 18444 — Moscow
• 18414 — Dalton
• 18421 — Vandling
• 18424 — Gouldsboro (covers Big Bass Lake)
• 18436 — Mount Cobb
• 18410 — Chinchilla
• 18471 — Waverly
• 18440 — La Plume
• 18416 — Elmhurst
• 18653 — Ransom
• 18420 — Fleetville

Eagle Lake has no ZIP code of its own; mail there is delivered under a neighboring Covington
Township office.

Geography

Lackawanna County sits in the Ridge-and-Valley section of northeastern Pennsylvania, with the
Lackawanna River running the length of the valley that gives the county its name. Of its 459
square miles, 453.2 are land and 5.8 are water, about 1.3 percent. The county has no single large
natural lake; Chapman Lake in Scott Township and Lake Scranton, the city’s reservoir, are the
largest bodies of water.

Susquehanna County lies to the north, Wayne County to the east, Monroe County to the
southeast, Luzerne County to the southwest, and Wyoming County to the west. Susquehanna County
and Wayne County border Lackawanna to the north and east; Luzerne County borders it to the
southwest. Wyoming County, to the west, has no live profile on this site yet.

Susquehanna County, Wayne County, Monroe County and Luzerne County all have their own
profiles on this site.

Demographics

Lackawanna County had a population of 215,896 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
estimate puts the county near 216,859 residents as of mid-2025. Scranton and Dunmore are the two
largest communities, together holding more than 42 percent of the county’s population. Median
household income runs about $66,223, below Pennsylvania’s 2023 ACS statewide figure of $73,824.
Population density works out to roughly 476 people per square mile of land, dense for
northeastern Pennsylvania outside the Wilkes-Barre–Scranton urban core.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 18,692 people,
followed by retail trade at 12,840 and manufacturing at 10,081. Scranton is home to the
University of Scranton and to Marywood University, whose campus straddles Scranton and Dunmore.
Keystone College, in La Plume Township near the Wyoming County line, enrolls just over a thousand
students. Rite Aid, the national drugstore chain, was founded in Scranton in 1962. The county’s
biggest annual event is Scranton’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade each March, one of the largest in
the country by attendance; Scranton also hosts La Festa Italiana over Labor Day weekend and the
Steamtown Marathon each October.

History

Lackawanna County was created on 13 August 1878, carved out of Luzerne County after decades of
petitioning — it was the last county Pennsylvania organized and the only one formed after
the Civil War. The name comes from the Lackawanna River, a Lenape word generally translated as
referring to a stream that forks.

Iron and anthracite coal built the county through the nineteenth century. The Scranton family
ran an iron and later steel works that supplied rails across the growing national network, and
Scranton became known as the capital of the anthracite trade. In 1886 the city put the country’s
first successful, continuously operating electrified streetcar system into service, earning it
the nickname “The Electric City.” Coal mining declined sharply after the Second World War as
fuel demand shifted to oil and gas, and the region’s deep anthracite mining effectively ended
after a catastrophic 1959 flood at a mine just across the Luzerne County line. Scranton’s
population, which peaked at 143,433 in 1930, had fallen to 76,089 by the 2010 census.

Getting There

Interstates 81, 84 and 380 all cross the county, along with the northern end of I-476, the
Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. US Routes 6 and 11 also run through the county.

• Wilkes-Barre — about 18 miles southwest
• Stroudsburg — about 30 miles southeast
• Binghamton, New York — about 60 miles north
• Allentown — about 65 miles south

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, in neighboring Avoca, handles the region’s
commercial flights. There is no Amtrak passenger service in the county; the nearest station is in
Cornwells Heights near Philadelphia, though the tourist-oriented Steamtown National Historic Site
in downtown Scranton preserves the city’s railroad heritage with excursion trains.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lackawanna County located?
It sits in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 120 miles north of Philadelphia, bordered by
Susquehanna, Wayne, Monroe, Luzerne and Wyoming counties.

What is the population of Lackawanna County?
215,896 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 216,859.

How big is Lackawanna County?
459 square miles (1,189 km2), of which 453.2 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Lackawanna County?
Scranton is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Lackawanna County?
Two cities — Scranton and Carbondale — plus 17 boroughs, 7 census-designated
places and 20 townships.

What ZIP codes does Lackawanna County use?
18503 for Scranton, 18407 for Carbondale, 18512 for Dunmore and Throop, and separate codes for
each of the other boroughs, listed above.

What is Lackawanna County known for?
Its anthracite coal and iron history, Scranton’s nickname “The Electric City,” and Steamtown
National Historic Site, a former rail yard now preserved as a railroad museum.

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