12 Best Places To Live In The Poconos In 2026

A good Pocono hometown requires top-notch healthcare, employment opportunities, and a house within reach. Jim Thorpe opens onto Lehigh Gorge while Hawley sits beside Lake Wallenpaupack. Tobyhanna Army Depot supports about 3,200 jobs. Wayne Memorial Hospital serves the northern Poconos, and St. Luke’s Hospital-Carbon Campus serves Carbon County. Typical home values sit near $250,000 in Lehighton and $260,000 in Palmerton. These communities put practical advantages close to the scenery, making them among the best places to live in 2026.

Stroudsburg

Stroudsburg's Main Street strip is home to cafes, pharmacies, banks, restaurants, and locally owned shops within several walkable blocks. A short drive from downtown, Stroud Mall adds national retailers, a supermarket, and additional everyday services that complement the borough's downtown businesses. The Monroe County Courthouse draws law firms, financial offices, and county government into the surrounding business district, supporting employment in government, legal, and professional services. Interstate 80 sits just south of downtown, ensuring smooth commutes toward the Lehigh Valley and northern New Jersey for local residents.

East Stroudsburg University expands local educational opportunities and supports additional employment nearby. Medical care is readily available through Lehigh Valley Hospital, Pocono, in neighboring East Stroudsburg. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Delaware River are only a short drive away, providing nearby opportunities for hiking, paddling, fishing, and cycling.

Hawley

Residents of Hawley benefit from a mix of year-round services and outdoor recreation that extends beyond the summer tourism season. The Hawley Silk Mill is an 1880s bluestone factory that now houses local businesses, restaurants, and fitness facilities. It also holds a Lackawanna College satellite center, so residents have access to shopping, higher education, and community programs without leaving town. Medical care is available through Pinnacle Family Health Center in nearby Tafton, part of the Wayne Memorial network, with Wayne Memorial Hospital also available in Honesdale.

Lake Wallenpaupack covers roughly 5,700 acres with about 52 miles of shoreline, making it the largest lake in the Pocono Mountains and giving residents year-round access to boating, fishing, paddling, and lakeside parks. Closer to the borough center, Bingham Park provides athletic courts, a playground, a bandstand, and Little League baseball fields.

Lehighton

The Lehigh River and the D&L Trail give Lehighton residents direct access to miles of walking and cycling routes through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, while nearby Mauch Chunk Lake Park offers boating, fishing, swimming, hiking trails, and picnic areas. Children in the borough attend schools in the Lehighton Area School District. St. Luke's Hospital-Carbon Campus provides emergency, inpatient, and outpatient care nearby in Franklin Township. Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville expands access to workforce training, associate degree programs, and continuing education.

Housing consists primarily of mid-century single-family homes, traditional twin houses, and established residential neighborhoods near the borough center. Zillow's Home Value Index puts the typical Lehighton home near $250,000 in mid-2026, below Pennsylvania's statewide figure of about $289,000, making Lehighton one of the more affordable communities in the southern Pocono region.

Honesdale

The Stourbridge Line departs from downtown Honesdale with vintage diesel-powered excursions that follow the Lackawaxen River along a 25-mile route toward Hawley. The trains run from late winter through the holiday season and trade on real local history: the borough is where the Stourbridge Lion made the first commercial locomotive run in the United States in 1829.

Healthcare is a major strength in Honesdale, with Wayne Memorial Hospital providing emergency services, surgical care, specialty clinics, and outpatient treatment for Wayne County and surrounding communities. Families are served by the Wayne Highlands School District, while the Lackawaxen River and Prompton State Park offer opportunities for hiking, boating, fishing, and paddling within a short drive of downtown.

East Stroudsburg

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area begins only a short distance from East Stroudsburg, giving residents quick access to the Delaware River, miles of hiking trails, fishing, paddling, and seasonal wildlife viewing, with the recreation area's waterfalls sitting farther north along the river corridor. Nearby Dansbury Park adds ball fields, walking paths, playgrounds, and a public swimming pool close to the borough center.

Away from the recreation areas, East Stroudsburg accommodates day-to-day life with supermarkets, restaurants, local businesses, and shopping concentrated along Business Route 209 and nearby commercial districts. Residents may easily commute to employment throughout the Pocono Mountains, the Lehigh Valley, or northern New Jersey using Interstate 80, while the borough supports a mix of established residential neighborhoods on top of the convenient regional access.

Jim Thorpe

Situated along the Lehigh River, Jim Thorpe combines a compact residential borough with direct access to outdoor recreation. Restored Victorian properties overlook the downtown, and detached houses fill the quieter streets beyond the center. Zillow's mid-2026 Home Value Index places the typical home at $259,000, below Pennsylvania's statewide figure. Residents have everyday essentials within town, including grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, restaurants, and locally owned businesses concentrated around Broadway and Race Street. The Jim Thorpe Area School District is the primary education provider for the borough, while St. Luke's Hospital-Carbon Campus in nearby Franklin Township provides hospital care.

The outdoors begin where the downtown ends. Lehigh Gorge State Park contains miles of hiking and biking trails alongside the river, with the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway following the gorge through Carbon County on seasonal excursions. Tourism bolsters the hospitality, retail, and outdoor recreation businesses throughout the year, giving the borough a broader employment base than many communities of similar size.

Milford

Grey Towers National Historic Site was the estate of Gifford Pinchot. It sits on landscaped grounds overlooking Milford and includes formal gardens, walking paths, and a French-inspired chateau open for tours and public events. A few blocks away, Broad Street is lined with independent bookstores, cafes, restaurants, galleries, and small retailers, making it easy for residents to accomplish everyday errands close to home.

As the Pike County seat, Milford supports a steady base of employment through county government, the courthouse, and related legal and professional services. Interstate 84 and nearby crossings over the Delaware River provide practical commuting options into Sussex and Morris counties in northern New Jersey. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area offers nearby access to hiking trails, river recreation, and Raymondskill Falls, the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania.

Mount Pocono

Mount Pocono sits on the Pocono Plateau at roughly 1,800 feet above sea level, where the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad helped establish the borough as a mountain resort community. Its location near the junction of Route 611, Route 940, and Interstate 380 keeps neighboring Pocono communities, shopping districts, and regional employers within a short drive. The Home Value Index puts the typical home near $247,000 in mid-2026, well below Pennsylvania's statewide figure.

Daily conveniences are concentrated along Route 611, with supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, restaurants, and home improvement stores serving both borough residents and nearby townships. The Pocono Mountain Public Library in nearby Tobyhanna hosts programs and community events, while Borough Hall Memorial Park provides recreational space in Mount Pocono. Nearby, Mount Airy Casino Resort and Kalahari Resorts & Conventions expand dining, entertainment, and employment opportunities without requiring a long commute.

Tannersville

Camelback Mountain Resort gives Tannersville full-season recreational opportunities close to home, with skiing, snow tubing, mountain coasters, zip lines, and an outdoor water park operating across different seasons. Just beyond the resort, Big Pocono State Park covers the summit of Camelback Mountain, where hiking trails and scenic overlooks provide expansive views across the Pocono Plateau. The local economy benefits from both the resort and Pocono Premium Outlets, where roughly 100 stores support retail and hospitality employment throughout the year. The Pocono Mountain School District serves students in the area, while established neighborhoods, townhomes, and condominium communities sit within easy reach by Interstate 80, making regional travel to the Lehigh Valley, Scranton, and other parts of northeastern Pennsylvania relatively straightforward.

Delaware Water Gap

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area borders much of the borough, placing residents within easy reach of the Appalachian Trail, which crosses the river at the gap itself, along with river access on the Delaware and dozens of miles of hiking, cycling, paddling, and fishing routes. The McDade Recreational Trail runs farther up the recreation area for longer outings. Main Street supports everyday life with outdoor outfitters, bakeries, cafes, inns, and locally owned businesses housed in historic wood-frame buildings near the town center. Interstate 80 crosses the Delaware River just east of town, providing a practical commute into northern New Jersey in addition to connecting residents with the Lehigh Valley and the wider Pocono region.

Palmerton

Palmerton Borough Park features shaded walkways, lawns, a bandstand, an extensive play structure, and a tot lot. A few miles south, Blue Mountain Resort offers skiing, snow tubing, lift-served mountain biking, and a summer adventure park with a zip line. Housing consists largely of early 20th-century brick homes, twin houses, and detached single-family residences, with newer neighborhoods extending beyond the borough center. The Home Value Index puts the typical Palmerton home near $260,000 in mid-2026, below Pennsylvania's statewide figure and among the more attainable options along the southern edge of the Pocono Mountains.

Palmerton Area School District serves students from the borough and surrounding communities, while nearby higher education options include Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville and Penn State Lehigh Valley in Center Valley. That combination gives residents access to public education through college-level programs without requiring a long commute.

Tobyhanna

Tobyhanna Army Depot is the largest industrial employer in northeastern Pennsylvania, with a workforce of roughly 3,200 in logistics, engineering, electronics, and communications. It is also the Department of Defense's largest full-service electronics maintenance facility, which makes the area an attractive option for military personnel, civilian employees, and defense contractors. Nearby neighborhoods include planned residential communities, private lake developments, and single-family homes on larger wooded lots. Tobyhanna State Park covers about 5,440 acres and provides year-round recreation with its 170-acre Tobyhanna Lake, hiking trails, fishing, boating, and camping. Interstate 380 places Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Interstate 80 within a straightforward drive, giving residents practical access to employment, shopping, and regional services beyond the township.

Weighing Payroll Against Price

Choosing where to live in the Pocono Mountains depends on which priorities matter most. Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg combine larger employment centers with hospitals and universities, while Hawley, Honesdale, and Jim Thorpe place convenient day-to-day necessities alongside lakes, rivers, and historic downtowns. Mount Pocono, Lehighton, and Palmerton all support comparatively attainable housing costs, and communities like Delaware Water Gap, Tannersville, and Tobyhanna keep major outdoor recreation close to home throughout the year.