According to the 2017 Census Bureau estimates, Luzerne and Lackawanna counties had a combined population of 528,104 which makes our two-county region the 100th largest metropolitan area in the United States.
This statistic is important to know because smaller regions like ours tend to get lumped in with large metropolitan areas in some of the studies behind national news reports on economic and quality of life measures. Because we squeaked onto this list, we are often being compared to places like Austin, Atlanta and Charlotte, which have very different assets and challenges than regions like ours — which is why several years ago, The Institute decided to take a closer look at the numbers.
“Pillars of a Strong Community” was born as a means to measure our region’s progress on overall community strength compared to twenty two other U.S. metro areas of similar size, economics, and demographics — like Erie and York, and farther away, Spokane, Wash. Now that the playing field was leveled, a bit of a different story emerged. The Pillars project took into account several factors that comprise a strong community.
In the category of “Diverse and Resilient Economy,” we were ahead of several of our peers in terms of economic growth. Data shows that over the past five years, both Luzerne and Lackawanna counties have seen an increase in aggregate personal income, the unemployment rate has been decreasing annually and in the coming decade the region’s skilled workforce looks to regain an economic edge as the number of available jobs in the region grow.
Our economy also scored well on being conducive to business and innovation and able to withstand periods of recession. While there is always room for improvement, based on the numbers we are heading in the right direction.
In the “Healthy and Prosperous Families” category we were similar to most of our peers. This was measured by a region’s residents being safe from violence, in good health, sufficiently educated and having enough income to be financially secure.
According to the numbers, violent crime remains lower than a decade ago. While drug-related offenses and some crimes have increased slightly in recent years, overall our region is safe for one of its size and socioeconomic characteristics.
Regional four-year high school graduation rates over the past five years equaled or exceeded the state average. And in both counties, the percentage of the population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher has increased significantly over the past fifteen years.
For “Physical Assets and the Environment,” we did very well on air quality but struggled in other areas. Transportation, infrastructure and housing blight are areas where there was room for improvement. In “Civic Engagement & Community Ties,” we scored lower than some peer regions in terms of voter turnout and the number of non-profits per capita.
Overall, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties performed very well in some quality of life measures, but challenges remain. In this way, we are not unlike the other peer regions that were analyzed. While specific areas of need differ, every community has its own challenges.
As a region, we have many strengths and also tools at our disposal that we can use to help improve upon our shortcomings. In many areas, things are moving in the right direction and with continued hard work, perseverance, and by capitalizing on these strengths, we have great reason to be hopeful about our future.
Susan Magnotta is the Director of Community Outreach at The Institute, a community-minded organization providing regional research, data and analytics to help drive discussion and inform decisions.
Proud natives of the region, Susan and her husband, Marc, are delighted to be living, working and raising their five children in NEPA.
