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Demographic data detail the size and composition of a population, and offer insight into the dynamics driving population change. Births, deaths, and migration are primary components of population change - and in Northeastern Pennsylvania, inward migration has largely supported population growth.
This inward migration followed a nationwide trend of migration out of large, high cost-of-living metro areas, but it is unclear whether this shift will be permanent or temporary. Any sustained increase in population will have important impacts on government, economy, housing, and public services, making this an important area of data to monitor.
According to the 2023 Indicators report:
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Decennial census counts indicate that populations in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties and the state increased compared with previous censuses; meanwhile, Wayne County saw a population decline that broke with the previous two decades of growth.
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Ethnic diversity has increased in the three counties as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, the shares of residents identifying as white non-Hispanic fell from 90 percent to 81 percent in Lackawanna County, from 88 percent to 77 percent in Luzerne County, and from 92 percent to 88 percent in Wayne County.
- For Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, the household size remains below the statewide average of 2.4, and Wayne County’s average household size has typically hovered above the statewide average but has fallen closer with its recent decline, from a peak of 2.54 in 2018 to 2.45 currently.
- Across all geographies analyzed, at least 70 percent of single parent households are headed by women.
- In the three counties combined, there have been over 34,000 seniors living alone in each of the past four years.
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