States · Pennsylvania · Luzerne County

Plains, Pennsylvania.

A community in Luzerne County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Luzerne County’s.

Living in Plains, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Plains, in Luzerne County, had 4,293 people in the 2020 census. 70% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 30% are rented. Unemployment in Luzerne County was 5.2% in August 2026, and the county had 0.1% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then manufacturing.

People 4,293 in the 2020 census; median age 42.8
Household income Too few homes in Plains for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 5.2% Luzerne County, August 2026; 6.2% a year before
Homes 70% lived in by their owners; 30% rented
  • 1,775households
  • 30%of adults have a degree
  • 17%below the poverty line
  • 7%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care26%
  • Manufacturing13%
  • Professional and business services12%
  • Government10%
  • Shops (retail)8%
  • Transport, warehouses and utilities7%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Luzerne County had 145,109 jobs in 2025, 0.1% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 36° and 20°; warmest in July, 85° and 63° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 36° 20° F M A M J J 85° 63° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 36° and 20°; warmest in July, 85° and 63° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 36° 20° F M A M J J 85° 63° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 36° and lows near 20°; warmest in July, with highs near 85° and lows near 63°. About 45 inches of snow and 39 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Wilkes-barre International Airport weather station, 8 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Plains

  1. Cornell Storefront SystemsOverhead door, commercial- or industrial-type, installation59
  2. Weis MarketsSupermarkets and other grocery53
  3. Compass Home Health & RehabHome health care agencies30
  4. Bakery DeliteBakeries with baking from flour on the premises, retailing not for immediate consumption26

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 4 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 168 people in all. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. Winter weatherRelatively high
  2. Inland floodingRelatively high
  3. Cold wavesRelatively moderate
  4. LightningRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Plains’ census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively moderate. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Luzerne County.