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Welcome to Wilkes-Barre ...

The city of Wilkes-Barre is located in Luzerne County<1> and is the County Seat for Luzerne County.



Wilkes-Barre was established in 1769.

When the people of Wilkes-Barre refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Wilkes-Barrean<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Wilkes-Barre has a population of 40,729 people<3> (see below for details).

The community of Wilkes-Barre is 520 feet [158 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Wilkes-Barre lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

The area code for Wilkes-Barre: (570)

Websites for Wilkes-Barre ...

Official Website:   www.wilkes-barre.pa.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.wilkes-barre.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Wilkes-Barre had an population of 40,729 people. This is a decrease of 1.85% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.55% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Wilkes-Barre had a population of 41,498 people (which is 12.93% of the total population of Luzerne County). This makes Wilkes-Barre the county's most populous community.

The population of Wilkes-Barre represents 0.33% of the population of Pennsylvania (which has 12,702,379 people), making it the state's 13th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 41,498 people, the population of Wilkes-Barre decreased 3.77% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 43,123 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Wilkes-Barre.

Communities near Wilkes-Barre ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Wilkes-Barre.

  • Scranton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dunmore
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunmore
    • Dunmore is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,836 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunmore <5>
  • Nanticoke
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Forge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Forge
    • Old Forge is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,838 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Forge <5>
  • Pittston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Taylor
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
    • Taylor is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,879 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor <5>
  • Moosic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moosic have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
    • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <5>
  • Exeter
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exeter have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
    • Exeter is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,519 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exeter <5>
  • Duryea
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duryea have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duryea
    • Duryea is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,910 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duryea <5>
  • Clarks Summit
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Summit
    • Clarks Summit is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,843 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarks Summit <5>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Wilkes-Barre. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Wilkes-Barre.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Wilkes-Barre. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilkes-Barre.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilkes-Barre. Our list includes 87 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Wilkes-Barre.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Wilkes-Barre ...

Looking for more information about Wilkes-Barre? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Wilkes-Barre, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Wilkes-Barre.

Adding Wilkes-Barre to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Wilkes-Barre in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Wilkes-Barre was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

We also found Wilkes-Barre on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Pennsylvania (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Wilkes-Barre.

The official website for Wilkes-Barre: www.wilkes-barre.pa.us/

The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/

The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties, including Luzerne, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Wilkes-Barre refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Wilkes-Barre may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Wilkes-Barre.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Wilkes-Barre - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024