The Period at a Glance
From January 1 through June 30, 2026, 307 houses, apartments and townhouses in Luzerne County were leased through the multiple listing service, up from 279 in the first half of 2025, an increase of (10.0%). The median asking rent on the homes that leased was ($1,375) a month, up (1.9%) from ($1,350). Half of the leased homes were asking between ($1,112.50) and ($1,600), against ($1,100) to ($1,600) a year earlier.
Homes took a little longer to lease. The median time from the listing date to the lease date in the MLS was 48 days, against 41 in the first half of 2025.
One point about these figures matters more than any other. They are the last asking rent on each home that leased, not the rent the tenant agreed to pay. The regional MLS does not share the final lease amount with member websites, so an asking rent on a home that did lease is the most reliable figure available. We do not claim the two are the same.
By Bedroom Count
| Bedrooms | Leases, H1 2026 | Median Asking Rent | Leases, H1 2025 | Median Asking Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 57 | $950 | 58 | $950 |
| Two | 103 | $1,250 | 90 | $1,250 |
| Three | 118 | $1,500 | 106 | $1,500 |
| Four or More | 28 | $1,850 | 24 | $1,642.50 |
Median asking rents on one, two and three bedroom homes were unchanged from a year earlier. The overall median moved because of the mix of homes that leased and a higher four bedroom median, on a small sample of 28. One lease in 2026 and one in 2025 had no bedroom count and are counted only in the totals.
By Property Type
| Type | Leases, H1 2026 | Median Asking Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment | 195 | $1,200 |
| Single-Family House | 84 | $1,600 |
| Townhouse | 27 | $1,600 |
| Condominium | 1 | Too Few to Report |
By Town
Towns are grouped by mailing address, so Pittston includes parts of Pittston Township and neighboring areas that share the Pittston address. Only towns with at least 12 leases in the period are shown.
| Mailing Address | Leases, H1 2026 | Median Asking Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre | 67 | $1,350 |
| Kingston | 35 | $1,495 |
| Pittston | 29 | $1,500 |
| Nanticoke | 19 | $1,000 |
| Plymouth | 13 | $1,075 |
How This Compares With Federal Benchmarks
HUD sets Fair Market Rents each year for housing assistance, for the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre metro area, which covers Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties. A Fair Market Rent is an estimate of the 40th percentile gross rent, including utilities, for a standard unit, not a median asking rent, so it is a benchmark rather than a like-for-like comparison.
| Bedrooms | Fiscal 2025 | Fiscal 2026, in Effect | Fiscal 2027, From October 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $779 | $863 | $949 |
| One | $928 | $1,028 | $1,106 |
| Two | $1,123 | $1,252 | $1,363 |
| Three | $1,462 | $1,631 | $1,786 |
| Four | $1,596 | $1,766 | $1,962 |
The two bedroom Fair Market Rent rose (11.5%) for fiscal 2026 and rises another (8.9%) to ($1,363) on October 1, 2026, unless HUD reconsiders it. Our median asking rent for a two bedroom home that leased in the first half of 2026 was ($1,250).
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey measures what every renter household pays, including long-standing tenancies at older rents. Its 2020 to 2024 estimate of the median gross rent in Luzerne County is ($1,004), plus or minus ($25), against ($1,007) in Lackawanna County and ($1,209) statewide. The same survey found that renters occupy (32.2%) of Luzerne County's occupied homes, and that (46.4%) of renter households whose burden could be computed spend (30%) or more of their income on rent.
For Landlords and Tenants
- Security deposits. Under the Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act a landlord may not require more than two months' rent as a deposit in the first year of a lease, or more than one month's rent from the start of the second year.
- Returning a deposit. Within 30 days after the lease ends the landlord must give the tenant a written list of any damages being charged, with the balance of the deposit. A landlord who sends no list loses the right to withhold any of it, and one who wrongfully withholds part of it can owe double that part. The tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing.
- Escrow and interest. Once a tenancy passes its second year, deposits over ($100) must be held in escrow, and the tenant is entitled to the interest, less the one percent a year the landlord may keep.
- Local licensing. Several municipalities license or inspect rentals. Kingston requires annual registration at ($25) a unit by April 1, Hazleton requires a rental business license and an occupancy inspection, and Pittston City requires a rental inspection every two years. Check with the municipality before you list a unit.
Methodology and Sources
The rental figures are every Residential Lease listing in Luzerne County with a lease date from January 1 through June 30, 2026, and for comparison January 1 through June 30, 2025, read from the regional multiple listing service data on September 24, 2026. Duplicate listings of the same property were removed. Asking rents below ($300) or above ($10,000) a month, one listing in each period and almost certainly entered as an annual or whole-term figure, were excluded. Figures are medians.
- Regional multiple listing service data, Residential Lease listings with a lease date in each period, retrieved September 24, 2026
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents, fiscal years 2025, 2026 and 2027, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre metro area, and the fiscal 2027 Federal Register notice (September 1, 2026)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, tables B25064, B25003 and B25070
- Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, sections 501, 511.1, 511.2 and 512
- Municipality of Kingston, 2026 landlord registration letter; City of Hazleton, 2026 rental property business license application and Ordinance 2022-8; City of Pittston, Rental Property Inspection Program
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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