The Census Bureau's migration tables show that in 2018 through 2022, about 8,431 people a year moved into Luzerne County from another state, and about 1,769 of them came from New Jersey and 3,734 from New York, roughly two out of three. In Lackawanna County about half of out-of-state movers came from those two states. The Census estimates Luzerne County grew to 332,126 people by July 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, with more people moving in from elsewhere in the country than moving out.
If you are one of them, this is what changes, in the order most people ask about it.
Income Tax
| State | Income Tax on Wages | Top Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 3.07%, Flat | 3.07% |
| New Jersey, 2025 | 1.4% To 10.75%, Graduated | 10.75% Over $1 Million |
| New York, 2026 | 3.9% To 10.9%, Graduated | 10.9% Over $25 Million |
| New York City Residents, Added | 3.078% To 3.876% | 3.876% |
Pennsylvania taxes income at one flat rate of 3.07% and has since 2004. For retirees the bigger difference is what Pennsylvania does not tax. Social Security is not taxable, distributions from eligible employer retirement plans after retirement age are not taxable, and IRA distributions are not taxable when no federal early-withdrawal penalty applies, such as after age 59 and a half.
Pennsylvania municipalities and school districts also levy a local earned income tax on wages. It varies by town, so check it before you choose one.
| Municipality | Resident Earned Income Tax, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre City | 3.0% |
| Scranton City | 3.4% |
| Pittston City | 2.7% |
| Pittston Township | 1.0% |
| West Pittston Borough | 1.0% |
Many municipalities also charge a Local Services Tax to people who work there, capped by state law at $52 a year. Scranton is an exception at $156 a year.
Home Values and Property Taxes
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey is the one source that measures home values and property tax bills the same way in every county. These are its 2020 to 2024 figures, released in January 2026, for owner-occupied homes. The survey reports tax bills of $10,000 or more only as $10,000 or more, so for three of the counties below the true median is higher than the table can show.
| County | Median Home Value | Median Real Estate Taxes Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Luzerne, PA | $174,100 | $2,530 |
| Lackawanna, PA | $201,800 | $3,012 |
| Warren, NJ | $346,500 | $8,119 |
| Sussex, NJ | $369,400 | $8,568 |
| Morris, NJ | $582,500 | $10,000 Or More |
| Bergen, NJ | $623,000 | $10,000 Or More |
| Orange, NY | $387,900 | $8,494 |
| Rockland, NY | $596,900 | $10,000 Or More |
| Richmond (Staten Island), NY | $675,500 | $6,247 |
Two cautions. These are medians of every owner-occupied home over five years, not current sale prices, and our own reports on this blog show that recent sales in Luzerne County run above the Census median. And a property tax rate in Pennsylvania depends on the specific town and school district, which our ranking of every municipality lays out. Apply for the homestead exclusion on a home you live in. It lowers the school tax, and the application is due to the county assessor by March 1.
Cost of Living
The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis measures how prices in each metro area compare with the national average. For 2024, in figures released in February 2026, the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre metro area stood at 93.6, where the U.S. average is 100, and the New York, Newark and Jersey City metro area stood at 112.6. The gap is mostly housing, which the Bureau put at 67.0 here and 148.6 in the New York metro.
Getting to New York City
By car, Wilkes-Barre to Midtown Manhattan is about 127 miles, mostly on Interstate 80, and Scranton to Midtown is about 122. Those distances and drive times of roughly two and a half to three hours are our own estimates from a routing service without traffic, not official figures, and the tunnels and bridges at the New York end can add a good deal to them.
Martz runs daily bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Downtown New York from the Wilkes-Barre Intermodal Center, the Wyoming Valley Mall area in Wilkes-Barre Township, and the Lackawanna Transit Center in Scranton, under a schedule effective May 13, 2026. There is no stop in Pittston. Check the current schedule before planning a commute around it.
Passenger rail between Scranton and New York is a plan, not a timetable. In February 2026 PennDOT said the route had reached the second step of the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification program, with three round trips a day proposed and stops studied at East Stroudsburg, Mount Pocono, Blairstown, Dover, Montclair, Morristown and Newark. About 20 miles of the old Lackawanna Cutoff in New Jersey still has to be rebuilt, and WVIA reported in March 2026 that PennDOT does not expect the service development plan to be finished until the middle of 2029.
Flying
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca lists nonstop service to Charlotte and Chicago O'Hare on American, to Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles on United, and to Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale on Breeze, with seasonal Breeze service to Fort Myers and Myrtle Beach. American also sells service to Philadelphia, which the airport announced in 2024 as a motorcoach connection, so check how your itinerary is operated.
Your First Deadlines as a Pennsylvania Resident
- Title and register your vehicle within 20 days of establishing residency.
- Get a Pennsylvania driver's license within 60 days.
- Apply for the homestead exclusion with the county assessor by March 1 for the following tax year.
- Register with the local earned income tax collector for your municipality. For each of the towns in the table above, the collector is Berkheimer.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, State-to-County Migration Flows, American Community Survey 2018-2022, and County-to-County Migration Flows 2016-2020
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 County Population Estimates (released March 26, 2026)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, tables B25077 and B25103
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Personal Income Tax Rates, and Personal Income Tax Guide, Gross Compensation (revised August 2025)
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, 2025 NJ-1040 Instructions, tax rate schedules
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2026 withholding tables (IT-2105-I) and 2025 IT-201 instructions
- Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Municipal Statistics, EIT and LST register, 2026, and Local Services Tax guidance; Scranton Single Tax Office
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (released February 19, 2026)
- Martz, Pennsylvania to New York schedule effective May 13, 2026
- PennDOT, Scranton to New York City rail release (February 5, 2026); Amtrak, Scranton to New York corridor study (March 2023); WVIA, March 2, 2026
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, Airlines and Destinations (updated July 2026)
- PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services, Moving to Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Homestead Exclusion
Talk to a Local Broker Who Knows This Market
Jonathan J. Nelson Real Estate works the Greater Pittston and NEPA market every day, residential, commercial, industrial, and land. If you are buying, selling, or investing, let's talk.
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