Hot-summer humid continental
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania · Population 44k · 564 ft elevation
Living in Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre has a hot-summer humid continental climate: hot summers (July highs around 86°F) and cold winters (January lows around 22°F).
Precipitation is wet at about 39″ a year, and it gets a fair bit of snow (45″ a season).
Skies are partly sunny (53% of possible sunshine). Summers get sticky, with about 26 muggy days a year.
Air quality is good: a median AQI of 37 and virtually no unhealthy-air days.
There is plenty to explore outdoors around Wilkes-Barre: about 18% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 1,400 ft around town.
Wilkes-Barre at a glance
- Population
- 44k
- Elevation
- 564 ft
- Average daily high
- 62°F30th percentile
- Average daily low
- 43°F36th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 39″35th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 45″85th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 2,384 hrs8th percentile
- Median AQI
- 3721th percentile
- Median home value
- $108k7th percentile
- Median rent
- $939/mo28th percentile
- Median household income
- $48k12th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 1.98%89th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 3.1%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 6.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.3%
- Homes with broadband
- 85%20th percentile
- Walkability index
- 9.663th percentile
- Average commute
- 20 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 11%3th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 35%
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9254th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 8988th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 20%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 18%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 1,411 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37°F | 22°F | 2.6″ | 11.7″ | 126 hrs |
| Feb | 40°F | 23°F | 2.1″ | 10.9″ | 140 hrs |
| Mar | 49°F | 30°F | 2.8″ | 10.1″ | 179 hrs |
| Apr | 62°F | 41°F | 3.3″ | 0.8″ | 206 hrs |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 3.3″ | — | 241 hrs |
| Jun | 81°F | 59°F | 3.8″ | — | 269 hrs |
| Jul | 86°F | 64°F | 3.6″ | — | 304 hrs |
| Aug | 84°F | 62°F | 3.9″ | — | 273 hrs |
| Sep | 76°F | 55°F | 4.2″ | — | 228 hrs |
| Oct | 64°F | 45°F | 3.7″ | 0.7″ | 170 hrs |
| Nov | 52°F | 36°F | 2.9″ | 3.2″ | 143 hrs |
| Dec | 42°F | 28°F | 2.8″ | 7.7″ | 106 hrs |
Near Wilkes-Barre
- Kingston, PA · 13k
- Edwardsville, PA · 4.9k
- Forty Fort, PA · 4.2k
- Plains, PA · 4.4k
- Ashley, PA · 2.6k
- Luzerne, PA · 2.7k
- Larksville, PA · 4.2k
- Swoyersville, PA · 5k
Largest places in Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, PA · 1.6M
- Pittsburgh, PA · 304k
- Allentown, PA · 125k
- Reading, PA · 95k
- Erie, PA · 94k
- Bethlehem, PA · 77k
- Scranton, PA · 76k
- Lancaster, PA · 58k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology