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Lehighton, Pennsylvania

Lehighton is a small town of about 5,200 people in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Philadelphia, is about 64 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,232
down 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$213,600
Carbon County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$64,651
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Allentown area
100
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus
To Philadelphia
64 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices match the U.S. average in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 64 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 Lehighton 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$213,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Carbon County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,019 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$64,651U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
50%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,666 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
47%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100U.S. average = 100 (the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area)

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 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area, not Lehighton 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, 2025 estimate
5,2322020: 5,240
Median age
36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (26%); manufacturing (18%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Luke's Hospital - Carbon Campus, Lehighton, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

3 public schools in Lehighton, run by Lehighton Area SD.

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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
81%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

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

Weather

January average low
19°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
4 a year
Nights at or below freezing
132 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.9 inches a year
Snow
27 inches a year
Elevation
519 feet

Weather station: Lehighton 1SSW (1 mile 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

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: Allentown, Philadelphia.

Carbon County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail4 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area27 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River32 miles
  • Steamtown National Historic Site40 miles
  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site42 miles

Read about Lehighton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lehighton?

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

Smaller places

  • Weissport, PA418 people, 1 mile
  • Weissport East, PA (unincorporated)1,646 people, 2 miles
  • Parryville, PA417 people, 2 miles
  • Bowmanstown, PA895 people, 3 miles
  • Slatedale, PA (unincorporated)303 people, 7 miles
  • New Tripoli, PA (unincorporated)717 people, 11 miles
  • Cherryville, PA (unincorporated)1,159 people, 11 miles
  • Laurys Station, PA (unincorporated)744 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.