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Moscow, Pennsylvania

Moscow is a small town of about 2,000 people in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 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 94 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,996
down 0.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$307,000
Lackawanna County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$82,031
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Scranton area
93.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Scranton, PA
To Philadelphia
94 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.4% below the U.S. average in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is North Pocono Hs, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byGeisinger-Community Medical Center in Scranton, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 94 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 Moscow 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
$307,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Lackawanna County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$950 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$82,031U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,958 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.6U.S. average = 100 (the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre metro area, not Moscow 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
1,9962020: 2,001
Median age
48.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
47%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (28%); professional and business services (12%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Geisinger-Community Medical Center, Scranton, PA, about 7 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

3 public schools in Moscow, run by North Pocono SD. The nearest public high school is North Pocono Hs, about 2 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
84%U.S.: 76%

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
15°F
July average high
78°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
147 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.7 inches a year
Snow
45 inches a year
Elevation
1,785 feet

Weather stations: Mt Pocono Mountains Ap (16 miles away) and Wilkes-barre Intl Ap (10 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Geisinger-Community Medical Center, Scranton, Philadelphia.

Lackawanna 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:

  • Steamtown National Historic Site8 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area17 miles
  • Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River29 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River31 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail32 miles

Read about Moscow's history on Wikipedia.

Know Moscow?

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

  • Mount Cobb, PA (unincorporated)2,065 people, 6 miles
  • Big Bass Lake, PA (unincorporated)1,428 people, 7 miles
  • Pocono Springs, PA (unincorporated)835 people, 8 miles
  • Gouldsboro, PA (unincorporated)713 people, 8 miles
  • Lake Wallenpaupack Estates, PA (unincorporated)233 people, 11 miles
  • Indian Rocks, PA (unincorporated)375 people, 11 miles
  • The Hideout, PA (unincorporated)2,432 people, 11 miles
  • The Escape, PA (unincorporated)416 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.