The Towns In The Poconos Where Retirees Are Moving To

Older populations are growing across Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, and in some townships the increase far outstrips the state's. American Community Survey five-year estimates for 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 show Pennsylvania's population aged 65 and older rising 11.1%, while several communities in Pike, Monroe, Wayne, and Carbon counties grew three to five times as fast. Census mobility figures add a second measure, the share of seniors who lived in another county or state a year earlier, and in some townships that share runs several times the statewide level. At the county level, IRS migration records trace where incoming tax filers originate, showing arrivals from neighboring Pennsylvania counties and from New York and New Jersey.

Behind those numbers are communities with the services and surroundings that suit retirement. In Barrett Township, the Barrett Senior Center in Cresco hosts chair exercise and communal lunches three days a week. Tunkhannock Township, home to Pocono Raceway, also has a level gravel loop at the Hauser Nature Center designed for mobility devices. Lansford offers tours that travel some 1,600 feet into the No. 9 Coal Mine, a reminder of its coal-mining history. September 2026 Zillow figures placed typical home values at $265,940 in Carbon County and between $305,224 and $310,974 in Pike, Monroe, and Wayne counties, against $287,078 statewide. Across all nine communities, healthcare access, protected forests, and long local histories round out the appeal of retiring in the Poconos.

Oregon Township

In Oregon Township, the estimated number of residents aged 65 and older increased from 148 in the 2015-2019 period to 209 in the 2020-2024 period, a 41.2% increase, more than triple the state's rate. Wayne County, which surrounds the township, draws more incoming tax filers from Lackawanna County than from any other county, according to IRS migration records, with Pike County in second place.

Much of Oregon Township's roughly 11,500 acres remains wooded, although a Wayne County land-use study recorded a growing share given over to residential development. Some of the township's history survives in Carley Brook, where the United Methodist Church dates to 1886 and its bell was installed in 1923. For everyday needs, Oregon Township uses a Honesdale mailing address, which places Wayne Memorial Hospital and the Honesdale branch of the Wayne County Public Library, open six days a week, within close reach.

Texas Township

Nearly a third of Texas Township's residents are 65 or older. The Census estimates that share at 31.8%, well above Pennsylvania's 19.5%, and the township's older population grew by 27.8% between the two survey periods, about two and a half times the statewide rate. The township's overall population moved in the other direction, falling 11.0% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses to 2,287, while the number of households dropped from 964 to 906, according to Wayne County's comprehensive plan update.

Glass from the Dorflinger factory in White Mills, one of the township's villages, reached the White House during presidential administrations from Abraham Lincoln through Woodrow Wilson. The Dorflinger name carries on today at the roughly 600-acre Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary, which offers walking trails, and at the Dorflinger Glass Museum, which displays more than 1,000 pieces. Each summer since 1983, the Wildflower Concert Series has also brought performances to the grounds. For time along the river, the Lackawaxen River Trail links Honesdale and nearby Hawley, and White Mills River Access Park added wheelchair-accessible river access in 2023.

Damascus Township

Damascus Township makes this list on mobility. Its senior population rose an estimated 8.4%, short of the state's 11.1%, but about 4.1% of residents aged 65 and older had lived in another state a year earlier, more than double the statewide share. Its overall population held steady, edging up from 3,659 to 3,674 between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, and Wayne County's comprehensive plan update counts Damascus among just eight of the county's 28 municipalities that gained residents over that decade.

Wayne County's largest township by area, Damascus shares about 29 miles of the Delaware River with New York. That stretch of river invites a paddle, and the National Park Service maps a three-mile float that starts at Damascus River Access. On drier ground, the 58-acre Damascus Forest on MacCubbins Road offers nature study and low-impact hiking. The township's history goes back a long way. It is home to a house John Land built in 1794, which the county historical society identifies as the oldest in Wayne County.

Westfall Township

About 6.3% of Westfall Township's residents aged 65 and older moved in from another state within the past year, more than three times Pennsylvania's share, and the township's senior population grew 24.8%, more than double Pennsylvania's rate. Pike County, which surrounds the township, draws heavily across state lines. Orange County, New York, sent it the most incoming tax filers in the 2022-2023 IRS records, with Wayne and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Sussex County, New Jersey, also among its sources.

Facing New York and New Jersey across the Delaware River, Westfall Township bills itself as a gateway to Pennsylvania. On the river itself, boaters launch at the Matamoras Access ramp, and away from the water, the 708-acre Stairway Ridge tract is part of some 19,000 contiguous acres of protected forest. The township also has a place in intellectual history, as philosopher Charles S. Peirce lived at Arisbe, his home here, from 1887 until his death in 1914. Today, the property houses federal park offices and stands as a historic landmark visible from Old Milford Road.

Lehigh Township

Lehigh Township's senior population climbed faster than almost any other on this list, from an estimated 332 residents aged 65 and older to 535. The 61.1% jump is more than five times the statewide figure, and roughly one in 19 of those older residents had lived in another state a year before, nearly triple Pennsylvania's share.

Wayne County's youngest and smallest township dates to 1885, but it makes up for its size with parkland. Gouldsboro State Park straddles the Wayne-Monroe county line, and on its 250-acre lake, electric-powered boats travel at no-wake speed. For a longer walk, the Frank Gantz Trail links the park to Tobyhanna State Park, which has a 5.1-mile trail around its own lake. The railroad has long been part of the story here. Ice harvested in the township once shipped out by rail, and the restored Gouldsboro Train Station still serves excursion trains, including runs from Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton.

Barrett Township

An estimated 14.4% of Barrett Township's residents aged 65 and older lived in another state a year earlier, compared with 1.89% statewide. Growth in the township's senior population was more modest at 12.4%, just above Pennsylvania's rate. In the 2022-2023 IRS records for Monroe County, Northampton County was the largest single source of incoming tax filers, followed by Kings and Queens counties in New York, although the county lost more filers than it gained over that period.

Mountainhome, Cresco, and Canadensis are among the communities in Barrett Township, and Brodhead Creek rises in the surrounding hills. Older residents have a ready meeting place in Cresco, where the Barrett Senior Center runs activities such as chair exercise and communal lunches on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Readers can join a Shakespeare Group at the Barrett Paradise Friendly Library, and anyone looking for a harder outing can follow the red trail at the Gravel Family Preserve up to the Mount Wismer viewpoint.

Tunkhannock Township

Tunkhannock Township gained an estimated 431 residents aged 65 and older between the two Census periods, rising from 1,188 to 1,619. Both its 36.3% growth rate and the 5.7% of older residents who moved in from another county or state within the past year run about three times the statewide figures. Monroe County's incoming tax filers include arrivals from several parts of New York City, the Bronx among them.

Long Pond, both a lake and a village, lies amid the forests and wetlands of the Pocono Plateau. The loudest presence in the township is Pocono Raceway, which hosts NASCAR events and hundreds of other activities each year and has run a 25-acre solar installation since 2010. For quieter recreation, The Nature Conservancy's Hauser Nature Center has a fairly level three-quarter-mile gravel loop built to accommodate mobility devices. Birders have a newer option, too: the 5.3-mile Long Pond Barrens Birding Trail, opened in June 2025, passes through globally rare pitch pine and scrub oak habitat.

Hamilton Township

At an estimated 2,129 residents aged 65 and older, Hamilton Township's senior population grew by 11.8% between the two survey periods, just ahead of the state's growth rate. About 5.6% of its older residents lived in another county or state a year earlier, close to triple the statewide share, and roughly two-thirds of the incoming tax filers recorded for Monroe County came from outside Pennsylvania.

Established in 1762, Hamilton Township is the second-oldest township in Monroe County, and that long history is easy to find. Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm has welcomed visitors since 1963, with seasonal events such as Farm Animal Frolic and Old Time Christmas. Elsewhere in the township, the Old Mill at Sciota dates to 1800 and replaced an earlier log mill associated with supplies for the 1779 Sullivan campaign. Older still, Christ Hamilton United Lutheran Church traces its services to 1755 and dedicated its stone church in 1830.

Lansford

Lansford's senior population rose an estimated 22.8%, from 580 to 712, roughly double Pennsylvania's rate. Nearly 6% of its older residents had lived outside Carbon County a year earlier, about three times the state's share, and the estimates classify those arrivals as interstate moves, though migration figures for an area this small carry sampling uncertainty. For Carbon County overall, the IRS records list Lehigh and Northampton counties as leading sources of incoming tax filers.

Lansford's mining past is still close at hand. At the No. 9 Coal Mine and Museum, tours travel some 1,600 feet into the mountain, where the temperature stays near 52°F year-round. Mining there ended in 1972, and the mine opened to the public in 2002. That heritage carries over to the table at the annual Miners' Picnic, which celebrates regional food traditions such as halupki, haluski, and pierogies. On a practical note, the Panther Valley Public Library helps residents aged 60 and older file Pennsylvania's property-tax and rent rebate applications.

Where Poconos Retirees Land

Some Pocono communities stand out for how fast their senior populations are growing, others for how many older residents arrive from another county or state. Housing costs also vary across the four counties, and Carbon County is the least expensive. Those price differences, together with protected forests, historic communities, and practical local services, give retirees a real range of options across the region.