Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania demographics

Wilkes-Barre, PA demographics: median age 34.7; 20.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Wilkes-Barre city, Pennsylvania · Incorporated city · GEOID 4285152. The survey estimates a population of 44,423 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Wilkes-Barre is 34.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 16,644 households (±524). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.7 ±1.3	40.9 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 44,423
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Under 18	9,735 ±775	21.9% ±1.7 pp	20.4%	22.0%
18–34	12,650 ±795	28.5% ±1.8 pp	21.9%	22.8%
35–64	15,247 ±921	34.3% ±2.1 pp	38.1%	38.0%
65 and older	6,791 ±528	15.3% ±1.2 pp	19.5%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 44,423
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Male	21,735 ±581	48.9% ±1.3 pp	49.3%	49.5%
Female	22,688 ±585	51.1% ±1.3 pp	50.7%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 44,423
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
White alone	23,862 ±1,183	53.7% ±2.7 pp	74.5%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	5,019 ±766	11.3% ±1.7 pp	10.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	95 ±122 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.9%
Asian alone	712 ±227	1.6% ±0.5 pp	3.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	203 ±115 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	7,293 ±1,156	16.4% ±2.6 pp	3.7%	7.1%
Two or more races	7,239 ±1,137	16.3% ±2.6 pp	7.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 44,423
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	29,426 ±1,091	66.2% ±2.5 pp	91.3%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	14,997 ±1,079	33.8% ±2.4 pp	8.7%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 16,644
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Married-couple family	5,229 ±425	31.4% ±2.4 pp	46.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,168 ±303	7.0% ±1.8 pp	4.7%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	3,164 ±389	19.0% ±2.3 pp	11.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,941 ±514	35.7% ±2.9 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,142 ±273	6.9% ±1.6 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 16,644
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Households with people under 18	4,868 ±393	29.2% ±2.2 pp	27.0%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	11,776 ±686	70.8% ±3.5 pp	73.0%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 16,644
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,941 ±514	35.7% ±2.9 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,724 ±569	28.4% ±3.3 pp	34.7%	33.8%
Three-person households	2,461 ±344	14.8% ±2.0 pp	14.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,820 ±299	10.9% ±1.8 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	947 ±218	5.7% ±1.3 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	419 ±145	2.5% ±0.9 pp	1.7%	2.2%
Seven or more people	332 ±110	2.0% ±0.7 pp	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 44,423
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Native	36,928 ±919	83.1% ±2.1 pp	92.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	7,495 ±912	16.9% ±2.1 pp	7.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 41,854
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
English only	30,216 ±1,068	72.2% ±2.4 pp	87.6%	77.7%
Spanish	10,062 ±930	24.0% ±2.2 pp	5.6%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	369 ±211 · low precision	0.9% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	200 ±152 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	184 ±87	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.8%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	224 ±132 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.7%	2.0%
Korean	17 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	46 ±42 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.1%
Vietnamese	33 ±43 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	25 ±37 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	300 ±247 · low precision	0.7% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Arabic	29 ±38 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	149 ±94 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 28,050
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	4,407 ±496	15.7% ±1.7 pp	7.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	10,832 ±764	38.6% ±2.5 pp	32.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,378 ±488	15.6% ±1.7 pp	15.1%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,693 ±462	9.6% ±1.6 pp	8.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,770 ±495	13.4% ±1.7 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,970 ±384	7.0% ±1.4 pp	14.3%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 43,727
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Same house	36,187 ±907	82.8% ±2.0 pp	89.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	3,138 ±503	7.2% ±1.1 pp	5.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,476 ±321	3.4% ±0.7 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	2,432 ±589	5.6% ±1.3 pp	1.9%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	494 ±254 · low precision	1.1% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

9.4% of Wilkes-Barre residents (±1.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.6% in Pennsylvania and 8.4% nationally. 85.2% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Wilkes-Barre	Pennsylvania	U.S.	Compared with Pennsylvania
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.4% ±1.4 pp	5.6%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.2% ±1.1 pp	89.7%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.2% ±0.8 pp	6.1%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Wilkes-Barre . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Wilkes-Barre housing and cost context or return to the city profile.