Census: Abingtons and North Pocono drive county's growth
Published: July 2, 2009
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share thisThe growth of communities in North Pocono and the Abingtons carried Lackawanna County last year to its second-consecutive population increase since the 2000 census, according to municipal-level data released Wednesday.
Scranton, however, continued to lose residents. Between July 2007 and July 2008, the city's population dropped by 233, or 0.3 percent, to 72,233, according to the new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The biggest population jump of 2008 was in Spring Brook Twp., which grew by 10 percent, or 247 people. The largest population losses in the region were minimal, with Greenfield Twp., Benton Twp. and Carbondale shrinking by a half-percent.
The new data is a localized look behind the regional numbers released in March, which showed slight gains for Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. The Poconos, including Pike and Monroe counties, kept expanding in 2008, but at a much slower pace than in previous boom years.
Gains in suburbs like South Abington Twp. and Jefferson Twp. - which grew by 109 and 70 people last year respectively - reflect there is a premium on more space and larger homes, said Teri Ooms, director of a public policy think tank based in Wilkes-Barre.
Migration studies by her organization, the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, show an influx of middle- to upper-middle-income households, Ms. Ooms said. Since 2000, there has been a significant arrival of residents from Queens and Brooklyn, N.Y.; Luzerne County and Philadelphia.
"There are still people leaving Lackawanna County, but there are more people coming in," Ms. Ooms said.
That Scranton is still struggling to reverse decades of population decline was no surprise to City Council President Bob McGoff, who said middle-class growth has traditionally pointed away from cities.
"I'm venturing a guess that the growth might be people who are able to afford suburban living as opposed to urban living, which has always been the trend," he said.
Ms. Ooms praised the city for investing in its downtown and said Scranton could see growth in the next five years, especially as spillover west from the Poconos increases.
Lee Jamison, president of the Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association, said the population jump in the Abingtons seems to be a diverse mix of young couples, baby boomers and empty-nesters. Denser communities like Clarks Summit and Moscow decreased in size by slim margins in 2008, but that's because there is no more room to build there, unlike in the suburbs around them, he said.
Still, the success of the suburbs is tied to that of the region's cities, Mr. Jamison said.
"It doesn't serve anyone well to have the urban centers emptying out," he said.
Contact the writer: jburton@timesshamrock.com
16 posted comments
Currently, I make 65k a year. With that salary, I will not be living in Scranton. Clarks Summit, here I come!!!!