City Wilkes-Barre city is a city in Pennsylvania, in Luzerne County.
The median owner-occupied home in Wilkes-Barre city had a real-estate tax bill of $2,136 (± $133) a year, compared with $3,241 in Pennsylvania and $2,969 nationwide. The median home value was $108,000 (± $4,601), compared with $240,500 in Pennsylvania and $303,400 nationwide.
| Measure | Wilkes-Barre city | Pennsylvania | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 44,217 ± 39 | 12,986,518 | 332,387,540 |
| Median annual property tax bill (homeowners) | $2,136 ± $133 | $3,241 ± $13 | $2,969 ± $3 |
| Median home value | $108,000 ± $4,601 | $240,500 ± $622 | $303,400 ± $362 |
| Median household income | $47,970 ± $2,490 | $76,081 ± $310 | $78,538 ± $176 |
| Property tax as a share of home value (calculated) | 1.98% ± 0.15 points | 1.35% ± 0.01 points | 0.98% ± under 0.01 points |
| Homes lived in by their owners | 48.9% ± 2.8 points | 69.3% ± 0.3 points | 65.0% ± 0.3 points |
| Owner households headed by someone 65 or older | 33.6% ± 3.0 points | 33.5% ± 0.1 points | 32.6% ± 0.2 points |
| Owners spending 30% or more of income on housing costs | 18.6% ± 2.7 points | 19.7% ± 0.2 points | 22.2% ± 0.1 points |
How to read these numbers
- These are estimates from a survey, not a count. The American Community Survey asks a sample of households. The ± figure is the Census Bureau’s margin of error: the true value is very likely within that range of the estimate. Small places have large margins.
- “Too imprecise to report” means the margin of error is at least half of the estimate, so printing the number would suggest accuracy that does not exist. A “rough guide only” note means the margin is a quarter to a half of the estimate.
- Property tax bill and home value are medians for owner-occupied homes. Half of the homes are above the figure and half below. A median bill is not the rate set by a city or town; the bill combines taxes levied by every local government that serves the home, such as the school district and county.
- “Calculated” rows are worked out by Untax the Roof from the Census figures above them. They compare two medians, so they describe the place, not a particular household.
- Missing is not zero. Where the Census Bureau publishes no figure, this page says so.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019–2023: tables B25103 (real estate taxes), B25077 (home value), B19013 (household income), B01003 (population), B25003 (owners and renters), B25007 (age of householder), B25091 (housing costs as a share of income); see the Census ACS data page.
If property taxes go unpaid in Pennsylvania
How it works. County Tax Claim Bureau Real Estate Tax Sale Law: upset sale; if unsold, judicial/private/repository routes
Excess sale money. §205(d) distributes tax-sale money after authorized deductions: Commonwealth tax liens, taxing districts, municipal claims, mortgagees/other lienholders by priority, then owner. If owner does not claim balance within 3 years of sale, §205(f) redistributes it pro rata to taxing districts
These rules are set by Pennsylvania, not by Wilkes-Barre city, so this section is the same for every place in the state. Last verified 2026-09-25. See the full Pennsylvania entry with statute links.