County outline
Where Luzerne County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 98.2% of Luzerne County’s measured area and water for 1.8%. Its combined area converts to 2,346.7 square kilometers or approximately 579,889 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 889.855 | 2,304.714 | 569,507.2 |
| Water | 16.221 | 42.012 | 10,381.4 |
| Total | 906.076 | 2,346.726 | 579,888.6 |
How Luzerne County compares
By original Census land area, Luzerne County ranks #14 of 67 in Pennsylvania and #890 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.362 times the Pennsylvania county-equivalent median of 653.3 square miles. It accounts for 2% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Pennsylvania ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Luzerne County
The Census Bureau estimates that 332,126 people lived in Luzerne County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #226 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #12 of 67 in Pennsylvania. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 325,585, the population has grown by 6,541 (+2%), compared with +0.4% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
With 889.9 square miles of land, that is 373 people per square mile (144 per km²), placing Luzerne County #434 nationally for density and #17 in Pennsylvania. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Pennsylvania median is 137. Put another way, there are about 1.7 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 325,195 | 325,987 | 326,627 | 328,684 | 330,898 | 332,126 |
| Change | — | +792 | +640 | +2,057 | +2,214 | +1,228 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Luzerne County
Luzerne County is divided into 76 municipalities and townships. In Pennsylvania, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Wilkes-Barre city, with 44,523 residents (13.4% of the county). The largest by land is Bear Creek township, at 67.2 mi², or 7.6% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Butler township grew fastest since then (+8%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre cityCounty seat | 44,523 | +0.4% | 6.848 | 0.8% |
| Hazleton city | 30,286 | +1.4% | 5.972 | 0.7% |
| Kingston borough | 13,462 | +0.8% | 2.146 | 0.2% |
| Hanover township | 11,781 | +2.8% | 18.9 | 2.1% |
| Nanticoke city | 10,712 | +0.8% | 3.457 | 0.4% |
| Hazle township | 10,460 | +2.8% | 45.1 | 5.1% |
| Butler township | 10,285 | +8% | 33.6 | 3.8% |
| Plains township | 10,010 | +2% | 13.1 | 1.5% |
| Dallas township | 9,554 | +4.6% | 18.8 | 2.1% |
| Pittston city | 7,715 | +2% | 1.551 | 0.2% |
| Kingston township | 7,231 | +1.7% | 13.6 | 1.5% |
| Wright township | 5,938 | +3% | 13.3 | 1.5% |
| Plymouth borough | 5,801 | +0.8% | 1.073 | 0.1% |
| Exeter borough | 5,587 | +1.2% | 4.616 | 0.5% |
| West Hazleton borough | 5,284 | +1% | 1.579 | 0.2% |
Show the other 61 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duryea borough | 5,157 | +2.3% | 5.525 |
| Swoyersville borough | 5,155 | +1.6% | 2.16 |
| Edwardsville borough | 4,927 | +1.1% | 1.185 |
| Fairview township | 4,742 | +1.6% | 9.527 |
| West Pittston borough | 4,682 | +0.9% | 0.82 |
| Jackson township | 4,568 | −1.6% | 13.2 |
| Jenkins township | 4,552 | +5.7% | 13.8 |
| Newport township | 4,518 | +1.9% | 16.1 |
| Larksville borough | 4,321 | +2.1% | 4.69 |
| Forty Fort borough | 4,280 | +0.8% | 1.305 |
| Salem township | 4,092 | +1.6% | 28.7 |
| Sugarloaf township | 4,068 | +4.7% | 22.4 |
| Rice township | 3,834 | +5.6% | 11 |
| Freeland borough | 3,811 | +1% | 0.675 |
| Foster township | 3,555 | +3.3% | 44.7 |
| Lehman township | 3,455 | +3.3% | 21.8 |
| Pittston township | 3,295 | +3.1% | 13.5 |
| Wilkes-Barre townshipCounty seat | 3,236 | +1.2% | 3 |
| Wyoming borough | 3,163 | +1.4% | 1.432 |
| Harveys Lake borough | 2,889 | +3.5% | 5.396 |
| Bear Creek township | 2,820 | +2.5% | 67.2 |
| Ross township | 2,789 | +2.5% | 43.4 |
| Luzerne borough | 2,744 | +1.4% | 0.707 |
| Dallas borough | 2,685 | +1.2% | 2.302 |
| West Wyoming borough | 2,678 | +2.2% | 3.588 |
| Ashley borough | 2,627 | +1.4% | 0.933 |
| Dupont borough | 2,589 | +2.1% | 1.564 |
| Avoca borough | 2,551 | +2.2% | 1.02 |
| Hunlock township | 2,286 | +2.5% | 20.8 |
| Exeter township | 2,155 | +4.7% | 13 |
| Dorrance township | 2,130 | +2.3% | 24.1 |
| Huntington township | 2,103 | +2.6% | 28.7 |
| Union township | 2,074 | +2.5% | 19.8 |
| Lake township | 2,053 | +2.5% | 26.9 |
| Black Creek township | 1,967 | +3.6% | 24.3 |
| Conyngham borough | 1,837 | +0.9% | 1.026 |
| Franklin township | 1,766 | +3% | 12.4 |
| Plymouth township | 1,733 | +1.1% | 15.8 |
| Nescopeck borough | 1,511 | +2% | 0.988 |
| Laflin borough | 1,468 | +2.3% | 1.316 |
| Hughestown borough | 1,371 | +2% | 0.87 |
| Conyngham township | 1,336 | +2.6% | 15.9 |
| Fairmount township | 1,240 | +2.3% | 45.7 |
| White Haven borough | 1,203 | +3.4% | 1.2 |
| Hollenback township | 1,184 | +4.7% | 15.2 |
| Nescopeck township | 1,124 | +3.9% | 17.9 |
| Slocum township | 1,075 | +1% | 10.4 |
| Dennison township | 994 | +3.8% | 34.3 |
| Sugar Notch borough | 989 | +0.8% | 0.993 |
| Pringle borough | 913 | +2.1% | 0.46 |
| Courtdale borough | 707 | +2.2% | 1.022 |
| Nuangola borough | 676 | +2.7% | 1.184 |
| Yatesville borough | 649 | +2.4% | 0.627 |
| Shickshinny borough | 636 | +1% | 0.476 |
| Laurel Run borough | 572 | +3.4% | 5.101 |
| Warrior Run borough | 558 | +2% | 0.66 |
| Buck township | 394 | +3.7% | 16.6 |
| Penn Lake Park borough | 383 | +6.1% | 1.583 |
| Bear Creek Village borough | 302 | +4.5% | 1.896 |
| New Columbus borough | 223 | +2.3% | 3.103 |
| Jeddo borough | 102 | +1% | 0.254 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Luzerne County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Luzerne County is a central county of the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 3 county equivalents have 574,418 residents on 1,746 square miles of land; Luzerne County accounts for 51% of the land and 57.8% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #181 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #104 by population.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Luzerne County | 332,126 | 889.9 |
| Lackawanna County | 216,502 | 458.8 |
| Wyoming County | 25,790 | 397.3 |
ZIP codes
51 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Luzerne County; 41 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
178141781517878182011820218216182191822118222182231822418225182341823918241182461824918255182561842418602186031861018612186151861718618186211862218627186341863518636186401864118642186431864418651186551865618660186611870118702187041870518706187071870818709
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Luzerne County
Luzerne County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents. It has more land than every one of them. The largest neighbor is Schuylkill County (778.8 mi²) and the smallest is Carbon County (381.4 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Luzerne County forms a block of 4,447.6 mi² of land, of which it holds 20%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Luzerne | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schuylkill County | 778.8 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Monroe County | 608.4 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Columbia County | 483.3 | 1.8× smaller | Compare |
| Lackawanna County | 458.8 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
| Sullivan County | 449.9 | 2× smaller | Compare |
| Wyoming County | 397.3 | 2.2× smaller | Compare |
| Carbon County | 381.4 | 2.3× smaller | Compare |
How big is Luzerne County compared with U.S. states?
Luzerne County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.2 times as much. Pennsylvania’s county land could hold about 50 areas the size of Luzerne County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 29.8 miles (48 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Luzerne County?
Luzerne County has more land than 2,332 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Luzerne County at #945 nationally by total area, 55 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 1.8%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.6 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Luzerne County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #889 | Swisher County, Texas | 890.2 | Compare |
| #890 | Luzerne County, Pennsylvania | 889.9 | This county |
| #891 | Clinton County, Pennsylvania | 889.8 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 41.173356, -75.976053. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 2,304,713,195 m²; AWATER: 42,011,609 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Luzerne County?
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania has 889.9 square miles (2,304.7 km²) of land and 16.2 square miles of water, for a total area of 906.1 square miles. It ranks #890 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Luzerne County the largest county in Pennsylvania?
No. Luzerne County ranks #14 of 67 in Pennsylvania by land area. The largest is Lycoming County, with 1,228.9 square miles of land.
What counties border Luzerne County?
Luzerne County shares a land border with Carbon County, Columbia County, Wyoming County, Lackawanna County, Schuylkill County, Sullivan County, and Monroe County.
What is the population of Luzerne County?
The Census Bureau estimates Luzerne County had 332,126 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #226 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 373 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Luzerne County?
The county seat of Luzerne County is Wilkes-Barre.
What cities and towns are in Luzerne County?
Luzerne County has 76 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Wilkes-Barre city, Hazleton city, Kingston borough, Hanover township, and Nanticoke city.
Is Luzerne County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 3 county equivalents and 574,418 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Luzerne County?
51 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Luzerne County, and 41 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Luzerne County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.2 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Luzerne County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 569,507 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 579,889 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.