Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Luzerne County
County
Seal
Topographical map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Location of Luzerne County in Pennsylvania
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Region	Northeastern Pennsylvania
Metro area	Wyoming Valley
Formed	September 25, 1786
Named for	Chevalier de la Luzerne
County seat	Wilkes-Barre
Largest city	Wilkes-Barre
Government
• Type	Council–manager
• Council	Members • John Lombardo (R) • Brian Thornton (R) • Patty Krushnowski (D) • Kevin Lescavage (R) • Lee Ann McDermott (R) • Joanna Bryn Smith (D) • Jimmy Sabatino (D) • Chris R. Perry (R) • Brittany Stephenson (D) • Harry Haas (R) • Gregory Wolovich (R)
• Council Chair	John Lombardo (R)
• Manager	Romilda Crocamo
Area
• Total	906 sq mi (2,350 km2)
• Land	890 sq mi (2,300 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)
Highest elevation	2,460 ft (750 m)
Lowest elevation	512 ft (156 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	325,594
• Density	360/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Area codes	570/272
Website	www.luzernecounty.org

Luzerne County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km²), of which 890 square miles (2,300 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 325,594, making it the most populous county in the northeastern part of the state. The county seat and most populous city is Wilkes-Barre.^[1] Other populous communities include Hazleton, Kingston, Nanticoke, and Pittston. Luzerne County is included in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a total population of 555,426 as of 2017. The county is part of the Northeastern Pennsylvania region of the state.^[a]

On September 25, 1786, Luzerne County was formed from part of Northumberland County. It was named after Chevalier de la Luzerne, a French soldier and diplomat during the 18th century. When it was founded, Luzerne County occupied a large portion of Northeastern Pennsylvania. From 1810 to 1878, it was divided into several smaller counties. The counties of Bradford, Lackawanna, Susquehanna, and Wyoming were all formed from parts of Luzerne County.^[2][3]

The county gained prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining region, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. At its peak in 1930, the county's population was 445,109. Many factories and coal mines closed by the early 21st century. Like most regions in the Rust Belt, Luzerne County witnessed population loss and urban decay. However, in recent years, the economy has grown moderately; warehousing has replaced manufacturing as the main industry.^[4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).