Kingston, Pennsylvania

Area Profile

13,397 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Kingston, in Luzerne County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 40% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,200th of 4,199 cities measured55
Schools3,292nd of 4,162 cities measured27
Growth2,952nd of 4,224 cities measured41
Housing affordabilityTop 15% of 4,218 cities measured79
Climate2,971st of 4,225 cities measured63
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured73
Access4,046th of 4,226 cities measured53
Economic stability3,185th of 4,226 cities measured42
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.0% and median household income $55,347, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, rather than for Kingston alone.

In the public schools here, 36% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.6 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, rather than for Kingston alone.

2 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 11% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The change in permitting is published for Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, rather than for Kingston alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
13,397
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$55,347
Bottom 31% nationally
Density
6,243/sq mi
2.1 sq mi of land
Median age
37.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pennsylvania
Nearest major airport
ELM
81 mi · Elmira/Corning Rgnl
Median home value
$172,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, is 5.0% — higher than in all but 25% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, grew 2.5% over the past year, to 157,091 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 72% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLuzerne County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,1586th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLuzerne County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$52,46110th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,6602024 ACS 5-Year$55,347Bottom 31%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3482024 ACS 5-Year$38,424Top 36%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year17.8%Bottom 27%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.9 minTop 25%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Top 28%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year66.2%20th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLuzerne County, PA’s figureJuly 2026157,091Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Luzerne County, PA’s figureJuly 2026+1.7%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Luzerne County, PA’s figureJuly 2026+2.5%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceLuzerne County, PA’s figureJuly 2026165,29963rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageScranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,800Bottom 7%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageScranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,330Bottom 11%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Luzerne County, PA’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateLuzerne County, PA’s figureJuly 20265.0%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%71st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202455k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $55,347 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Stockers and Order Fillers10,250$37,410
Home Health and Personal Care Aides9,970$29,460
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand9,630$42,900
Fast Food and Counter Workers6,450$27,520
Retail Salespersons6,330$30,020
General and Operations Managers6,010$93,820

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Luzerne County, PA, which contains this city.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, rather than for Kingston alone.

There are 16.6 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Luzerne County, PA, which contains Kingston, rather than for Kingston alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
16.6
Math proficiency
35.9%
Bottom 21% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
55.1%
Bottom 27% in Pennsylvania

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Luzerne County, PA: too few schools in Kingston reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area is up 57% over five years, and up 7.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,628 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,252, some 21% above the $1,038 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,252 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $50,100 a year, about 91% of the median household income here of $55,347.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,038 a month.

A median home at $172,900 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $81,926, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
93.4

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,252
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,038
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$172,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Kingston’s median household income of $55,347, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area’s figure202393.4Top 20%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+7.5%97th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+56.7%92nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+97.0%56th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 37%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year52.5%11th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3752024 ACS 5-Year6,43291st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,028Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,631Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,252Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$622024 ACS 5-Year$1,038Bottom 44%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,6012024 ACS 5-Year$172,90046th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2322024 ACS 5-Year$2,62868th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,3042024 ACS 5-Year$81,926Top 46%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.16%2024 ACS 5-Year1.52%79th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 43%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±242024 ACS 5-Year1669th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%58th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2172024 ACS 5-Year57591st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

41/ 100
Ranks 2,952 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 13,476 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 2 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Luzerne County, which contains Kingston, gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $49,158, below the $52,461 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
2
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 8% nationally
Year over year
−11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k13k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
59%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,158
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,461
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lackawanna County, PA 1,091 people · 10% of arrivals
  2. Bronx County, NY 924 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  3. Kings County, NY 524 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  4. Schuylkill County, PA 499 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  5. Passaic County, NJ 455 people · 4.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lackawanna County, PA 1,122 people · 11% of departures
  2. Schuylkill County, PA 809 people · 8.0% of departures
  3. Columbia County, PA 542 people · 5.4% of departures
  4. Bronx County, NY 294 people · 2.9% of departures
  5. Carbon County, PA 257 people · 2.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Luzerne County, PA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420250.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 38.7 inches, including 45.1 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WILKES-BARRE INTL AP, 9.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals38.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals45.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 73% of it. Cold wave and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, cold wave, heat wave, earthquake, ice storm, tornado, strong wind, landslide, avalanche, wildfire, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
90
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,435
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Kingston's police department reported 90 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,435.

Luzerne County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.0 per 100,000 residents in Luzerne County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Kingston’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Kingston (Luzerne County) rather than Kingston itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Elmira/Corning Rgnl at 81 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year90.2%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle81 miBottom 3%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%Top 50%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM81 mi8,001 ft
Harrisburg IntlMDT87 mi10,001 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF94 mi11,817 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Other cities in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ScrantonLackawanna County76,03352Scranton vs Kingston
Wilkes-BarreLuzerne County44,42351Wilkes-Barre vs Kingston
HazletonLuzerne County30,11149Hazleton vs Kingston
DunmoreLackawanna County14,18160
Mountain TopLuzerne County11,85067
NanticokeLuzerne County10,65353

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Kingston side by side with a similar place.

Kingston vs NanticokeKingston vs Harrisonburg

Moving to Kingston from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.