Living in Hemlock Farms, Pennsylvania: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is East Stroudsburg Shs North, about 10 miles away.
A hospital close byBon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, about 19 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 73 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Hemlock Farms meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 1 in 2 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $334,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Pike County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,629 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $79,980U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 91%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,702 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 48%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 90.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas, not Hemlock Farms alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 3,392The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 60.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 43%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 8%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 46%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (27%); retail (16%); professional and business services (11%)
Work from home: 36%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bon Secours Community Hospital, Port Jervis, NY, about 19 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Hemlock Farms itself. The nearest public high school is East Stroudsburg Shs North, about 10 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Pennsylvania's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 14°F
July average high: 81°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 6 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 164 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.1 inches a year
Snow: 47 inches a year
Elevation: 1,525 feet

Weather station: Hawley 1 E (13 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Bon Secours Community HospitalEmergency room19

Scranton, PACity of 76,00033

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million73

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bon Secours Community Hospital, Scranton, New York.

Pike County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area9 miles
Middle Delaware National Scenic River11 miles
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River11 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail15 miles
Steamtown National Historic Site32 miles

Read about Hemlock Farms's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hemlock Farms?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Gold Key Lake, PA2,600 people, 6 miles
Pocono Woodland Lakes, PA3,200 people, 8 miles
Pine Ridge, PA3,100 people, 12 miles
Hawley, PA1,200 people, 13 miles
Milford, PA1,100 people, 13 miles
Saw Creek, PA4,400 people, 14 miles

Smaller places

Conashaugh Lakes, PA (unincorporated)1,538 people, 3 miles
Sunrise Lake, PA (unincorporated)1,126 people, 5 miles
Birchwood Lakes, PA (unincorporated)1,399 people, 8 miles
Pocono Ranch Lands, PA (unincorporated)1,187 people, 11 miles
Pocono Mountain Lake Estates, PA (unincorporated)700 people, 12 miles
Wallenpaupack Lake Estates, PA (unincorporated)1,232 people, 13 miles
Barryville, NY (unincorporated)461 people, 13 miles
Layton, NJ (unincorporated)967 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.