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Cost of living, pay and housing

41.31° N · 75.78° W · GEOID 4209496

Browntown

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania · part of the Scranton, PA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

PennsylvaniaBrowntown, PABrowntownBrowntown

The short answer

Browntown is home to 1,671 people. Median household income is $69,332 a year and median rent is $920 a month, 15.9% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $121,800, about 1.8x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$920
33% below the median place
Median household income
$69,332
14% below the median place
Median home value
$121,800
62% below the median place
Unemployment
5.8%
19% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Browntown

  • The median home is worth 1.8 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 97% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track.
  • Household income has grown -0.5% a year across the last five survey releases, slower than in 96% of places its size.
  • 23% of workers mostly work from home, more than in 83% of places its size.
  • The median resident is 34.6 years old, younger than in 81% of places its size.

Rent is light relative to pay, but the county has a FEMA natural hazard risk score of 92 out of 100. Budget for insurance before counting the savings.

01

Moving to Browntown

Luzerne County gains about 2.5 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in10,861
Moved out10,200
Net+661

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Lackawanna County, PA1,0911,122−31
Kings County, NY524
Queens County, NY356

Within Pennsylvania, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within PennsylvaniaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$49K
Leavers$52K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Luzerne County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.7% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.0% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Luzerne County report $49,100 a year in income on average; those leaving, $52,300, so leavers earn more than newcomers.
Income you would need
$36,800 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $920 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,430 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $121,800.
Getting to work
28 minutes each way on average; 22.7% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Marshalltown, IA matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
0.0%
below the median place (median 2.0%)
Income of households moving in7
$49,050
31% below the median place
Income of households moving out7
$52,324
26% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureBrowntownAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.7%18% below
Moved from another state10.0%below (median 2.0%)
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure2.5above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$49,05031% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$52,32426% below
02

What it costs to live here

Vacant homes is 0.0%, below the median place (median 7.1%).

Browntown15.9%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$36,800
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
15.9%
22% below the median place
Home price to income
1.8x
54% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
16%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$58,500
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Browntown, $920 a month, and local prices for everything else (99.0 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Browntown.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Browntown? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
0.0%
below the median place (median 7.1%)
Property tax rate1
2.2%
146% above the median place
Median home value1
$121,800
62% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureBrowntownAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$92033% below
Rent to income115.9%22% below
Property tax rate12.2%146% above
Home price to income11.8x54% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure93.67% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,36316% below
HUD area median income4County figure$92,40014% below
Property tax paid (median)1$2,72517% below
Median home value1$121,80062% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure5.5%74% above
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure60.7%18% above
Homeownership178.1%18% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure46.4%8% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,43024% below
Vacant homes10.0%below (median 7.1%)
Median year built119641% below
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Works from home1
22.7%
82% above the median place
Income per person1
$32,221
20% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureBrowntownAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$69,33214% below
Income per person1$32,22120% below
Unemployment1County figure5.8%19% above
Average annual pay6County figure$58,25212% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure4.2%14% above
Jobs6County figure145,1094% below
Poverty rate1County figure15.3%42% above
Mean commute128 min11% above
Works from home122.7%82% above
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Median age is 34.6, 11% below the median place.

Median age1
34.6
11% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
21.1%
34% below the median place
Household size1
2.5
1% below the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureBrowntownAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,6716646th largest
Median age134.611% below
Bachelor's or higher121.1%34% below
High school or higher192.5%0% above
Household size12.51% below
Born abroad1County figure9.6%9% above
No health insurance1County figure6.6%3% above
Homes with broadband192.5%0% above
05

Life in Browntown

38 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents12.0 +18%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars22.3 +7%
Shops34.6 +14%
Arts, recreation and fitness2.8 −32%
Doctors' offices and clinics21.6 +7%
Child care centers3.4 +48%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Child care centers per 10k8
3.4
48% above the median place
Public school students11
44,957
above the median place (median 4,897)
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8
2.8
32% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureBrowntownAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure63above (median 9)
Public school students11County figure44,957above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher11County figure16.36% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure22.37% above
Shops per 10k8County figure34.614% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure2.832% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure21.67% above
Child care centers per 10k8County figure3.448% above
Parks per 10k912.018% above
Playgrounds per 10k90.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k90.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure38192% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

July average high is 81°F, 7% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Browntown. Larger places are fetched first.

July average high12
81°F
7% below the median place
Average temperature12
48°F
13% below the median place
January average low12
17°F
33% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureBrowntownAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure81°F7% below
January average low12County figure17°F33% below
Average temperature12County figure48°F13% below
Annual precipitation12County figure45.8 in5% above
Natural hazard risk13County figure91.61% below
Hurricane risk13County figure83.118% above
Tornado risk13County figure81.60% above
Wildfire risk13County figure53.712% below
Heat wave risk13County figure91.31% above
Median air quality index14Metro figure407% below
Good air days14Metro figure72.3%6% above
08

Browntown in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 16% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 16% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$920/mo (2024)$1,150/mo$940 to $1,400/mo+3.8%
Median household income$69,332 (2024)$86,000$72,500 to $102,000+3.7%
Median home value$121,800 (2024)$157,000$114,000 to $216,000+4.3%

The median home would be worth 1.8 years of the median income in 2030, against 1.8 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Browntown

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Marshalltown, IA$891$69,068Compare
Port Lavaca, TX$849$70,123Compare
Sioux City, IA$976$68,906Compare
West Odessa, TX$891$65,234Compare
West Odessa, TXSioux City, IAPort Lavaca, TXMarshalltown, IABrowntown, PABrowntownMarshalltownPort LavacaSioux CityWest OdessaBrowntownMarshalltownPort LavacaSioux CityWest Odessa

Common questions

Is Browntown a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. The median home is worth 1.8 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 97% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. Household income has grown -0.5% a year across the last five survey releases, slower than in 96% of places its size. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Browntown expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 15.9% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $121,800.

What salary do you need to live in Browntown?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $36,800 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Browntown?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Marshalltown, IA, Port Lavaca, TX, Sioux City, IA and West Odessa, TX.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Browntown with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Browntown itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/browntown-pennsylvania

Citytistics. “Browntown, Pennsylvania.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/browntown-pennsylvania/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.