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Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania

Mount Pocono is a small town of about 3,000 people in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Philadelphia, is about 78 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,047
down 1.4% since 2020
Prices, rural Pennsylvania
90.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Stroudsburg, PA
To Philadelphia
78 mi
straight line

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Mount Pocono to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Mount Pocono itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Pocono Mountain East Hs, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySt. Luke's Hospital - Monroe Campus in Stroudsburg, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 78 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 Mount Pocono 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

Home prices since then
Up 22%Monroe County, 2022 to 2025
Homes owned by the people living in them
56%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,598 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas, not Mount Pocono 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
3,0472020: 3,089
Median age
46.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
27%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
27%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 (21%); retail (16%)
Average commute
35 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%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 - Monroe Campus, Stroudsburg, PA, about 10 miles away. 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

There are no public schools inside Mount Pocono itself. The nearest public high school is Pocono Mountain East 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
87%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
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
1,773 feet

Weather stations: Mt Pocono Mountains Ap (2 miles away) and Wilkes-barre Intl Ap (24 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: St. Luke's Hospital - Monroe Campus, Scranton, Philadelphia.

Monroe County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Pocono Manor Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Arearight here
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail15 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River15 miles
  • Steamtown National Historic Site25 miles
  • Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River31 miles

Read about Mount Pocono's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mount Pocono?

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

  • Pocono Pines, PA (unincorporated)953 people, 5 miles
  • Mountainhome, PA (unincorporated)887 people, 6 miles
  • Gouldsboro, PA (unincorporated)713 people, 10 miles
  • Big Bass Lake, PA (unincorporated)1,428 people, 11 miles
  • Pocono Springs, PA (unincorporated)835 people, 11 miles
  • Effort, PA (unincorporated)1,743 people, 13 miles
  • Brodheadsville, PA (unincorporated)1,774 people, 14 miles
  • Holiday Pocono, PA (unincorporated)743 people, 15 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.