ZIP code
18702
in Wilkes-Barre, PennsylvaniaPopulation 41,970
42.15/ 100
Ranked #25,088 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 22%)
Ranked #1,520 of 1,748 Pennsylvania ZIPs (bottom 13.1%)
Ranked #64 of 73 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA ZIPs (bottom 12.4%)
Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.
Some domains have limited local data — read this Score as directional
What defines this ZIP
Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.
Transit access
4.8 per 1,000 residents
in the top 5.5% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST90thUS95thDefinition & source ›
The number of public-transit stops inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.
Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.
Full methodology ›Households without a vehicle
14.6%
in the top 7.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST89thUS92ndDefinition & source ›
The share of households with no vehicle available.
Full methodology ›Subsidized affordable housing
295 units
in the top 8.4% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST98thUS92ndDefinition & source ›
The number of affordable rental units in this ZIP supported by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Full methodology ›Physician access
1.8 per 1,000 residents
in the top 9.0% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST89thUS91stDefinition & source ›
The number of physicians’ offices located inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.
Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.
Full methodology ›Tree cover
70.4%
in the top 9.0% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST82ndUS91stDefinition & source ›
The share of this ZIP’s land area covered by forest.
Full methodology ›Short sleep
41.4%
in the top 11.2% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST93rdUS89thDefinition & source ›
The estimated share of adults who usually sleep less than seven hours in a 24-hour period.
Full methodology ›Expected annual disaster loss
$0
in the top 11.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST98thUS88thDefinition & source ›
FEMA’s modeled estimate, in dollars per year, of the average harm to people expected from natural hazards — an annualized average, not a forecast for any single year.
Full methodology ›Slow internet speeds
0.58%
in the top 18% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST90thUS82ndDefinition & source ›
The share of homes whose fastest available download speed is under 10 Mbps.
Full methodology ›Natural-disaster risk
in the top 21% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST96thUS79thDefinition & source ›
This area’s national rank on its single highest non-flood natural hazard — such as wildfire, tornado, or earthquake — in FEMA’s modeled National Risk Index; flooding is shown separately.
Full methodology ›The read
From the partial coverage available here, ZIP 18702, one of several in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania lands in the bottom 22% nationally (25,088th) and the bottom 13.1% of Pennsylvania (1,520th), based on limited data; treat as directional.
The readings that are available are worth naming, coverage aside: distance to an emergency room is at the national minimum, shared with about 11% of ZIPs. Transit registers in the top 5.5% nationally, and subsidized affordable housing lies in the top 8.4% nationally. Physicians is in the top 9.0% nationally, and modeled tree cover registers in the top 9.0% nationally. Modeled extreme heat lies at the national minimum, shared with about 19% of ZIPs. Distance to a community health center is at the national minimum, shared with about 23% of ZIPs. On the other hand, households without a vehicle registers in the top 7.7% nationally, distance to a Superfund site lies in the bottom 11.0% nationally, and modeled short sleep is in the top 11.2% nationally.
Set beside the wider area around it, park land runs far lower than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. For clarity, distance to a Superfund site is an abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous-waste site the EPA has identified for cleanup. Subsidized affordable housing is the main federal tax-credit program (HUD) funding affordable rental housing, counted as local units it supports. Extreme heat is a modeled count of days a year reaching a dangerously high temperature, a leading weather hazard. ZIP 18424, just across the boundary, ranks better overall among the ZIPs nearby.
What’s driving this score
Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.
Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.
Lifting this score
Climate / Disaster Risk
healthier than 74%
6%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
6%
Holding it back
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 19%
19%
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 33%
16%
Preventive CarePartial
healthier than 27%
15%
Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.
No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.
“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›
Findings that name this ZIP
2 of our published findings list this ZIP code. Each finding compares one published measure against a stated benchmark, and names only the ZIP codes whose estimates are reliable enough to rank. See all surprising findings.
Below what income predicts
The ZIP codes that outlive their incomes
Estimated life expectancy is 75.4 ± 1.0 years. A median household income of $56,378 predicts 77.8 years — 2.5 years below.
Ranked #3,386 of the 5,842 ZIP codes this finding names, ordered by years above what income predicts, highest first.
Below its nearby ZIPs
The ZIP codes that outlive their neighbors
Estimated life expectancy is 75.4 ± 1.0 years. The 45 nearest ZIP codes with estimates average 77.5 years — 2.2 years below them.
Ranked #1,708 of the 3,687 ZIP codes this finding names, ordered by years above the nearby-ZIP average, highest first.
Nearby & similar ZIPs
Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.
Nearby
18424
Pennsylvaniashares a border
Score 51.79
Closest healthier
18602
Pennsylvaniashares a border
Score 61.79
Similar health profile
44432
Ohio99% similar profile
Score 41.61
How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured
Evidence
Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.
Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years | 17.1% | 14.1–20.5 |
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years | 64.3% | 59.2–69.2 |
| Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults | 56.8% | 53.0–60.5 |
| Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years | 73.8% | 65.6–81.0 |
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Short sleep duration among adults | 41.4% | 35.3–48.0 |
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | PA median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty rate | 18.7% | 10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,364 | 9.3% (2.1–21.6%) n=1,759 |
| Uninsured 18–64 | 11.1% | 9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,286 | 6.3% (0.0–16.6%) n=1,753 |
| No HS diploma (25+) | 13.4% | 7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,505 | 7.0% (1.5–16.1%) n=1,762 |
| Bachelor's or higher (25+) | 23.6% | 23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,505 | 21.9% (8.9–50.4%) n=1,762 |
| Unemployment rate (16+) | 8.2% | 3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,274 | 3.9% (0.0–9.6%) n=1,755 |
| Households without a vehicle | 14.6% | 3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,322 | 4.8% (0.0–15.6%) n=1,758 |
| Broadband subscription | 84.6% | 89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,322 | 88.2% (75.7–97.3%) n=1,758 |
| Housing cost burden (≥30% income) | 31.1% | 23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,322 | 21.9% (9.9–35.3%) n=1,758 |
| Homeownership rate | 59.5% | 78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,322 | 80.1% (57.1–94.5%) n=1,758 |
| Crowded housing (>1 per room) | 2.2% | 1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,322 | 0.6% (0.0–3.3%) n=1,758 |
| Foreign-born population | 15.2% | 2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,553 | 1.4% (0.0–10.2%) n=1,763 |
| Single-parent households | 45.5% | 53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,087 | 56.3% (38.5–72.8%) n=1,744 |
| Population 65+ | 18.1% | 19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,553 | 21.1% (12.3–31.4%) n=1,763 |
| Median age | 39.1 yr | 42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,292 | 44.2 yr (33.9–55.5) n=1,752 |
| Median household income | $56,378 | $72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318 | $71,250 ($50,880–$112,747) n=1,642 |
| Median home value | $131,900 | $222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049 | $197,200 ($99,000–$382,120) n=1,649 |
| Median gross rent | $1,011 | $1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670 | $983 ($701–$1,527) n=1,367 |
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | PA median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 75.4 yr ± 0.50 | 78.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,308 | 79.2 yr (76.0–82.0) n=1,730 |
About the ± — it’s this estimate’s give-or-take (statisticians call it the standard error). The true life expectancy for this ZIP most likely falls within 0.50 years of 75.4, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.
More ZIPs to explore ▾More ZIPs to explore ▴
How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured