Wilkes-Barre, PA Average Home Price (2026)
The average home price in Wilkes-Barre is about $185,000 (the 2026 median, at ~$133/sq ft) — 36% more affordable than the typical U.S. home. Below: average prices by home size, what it costs to live here, and a free estimator for your own address.
Thinking of moving to Wilkes-Barre?
Wilkes-Barre sits in Luzerne County, where the typical home runs $238,000.
Here’s what the numbers say about housing costs in Wilkes-Barre. A typical home runs about $185,000, which is 36% more affordable than the national median and 22% more affordable than the Pennsylvania average. At roughly $133 per square foot, a median budget here buys you around 1,390 sq ft of home.
Prices swing a lot by neighborhood: across Wilkes-Barre’s 4 ZIP codes, the most affordable is 18702 (~$182,000) and the priciest is 18705 (~$199,000) — roughly a 1.1× difference. If you’re relocating, that spread is where the real budgeting happens, so it pays to target ZIP by ZIP rather than the citywide average.
Wilkes-Barre home value by size
Using the local rate of about $133 per square foot, here’s a rough estimate by home size. Condition, lot, and exact location move these meaningfully.
| Home size | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $133,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $199,500 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $266,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $332,500 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $399,000 |
Home value appreciation in Wilkes-Barre
Home prices in Wilkes-Barre have risen about 101% over the last 10 years (≈7.2% a year) and +91.8% over 20 years, according to the FHFA house price index through 2025. The most recent year came in at +4.6% — still rising. A home worth $185,000 today was worth roughly $91,948 ten years ago.
See where that trend takes a specific home with the home appreciation calculator — statewide, Pennsylvania is +76.8% over the same 10 years. Past appreciation is a track record, not a forecast; local prices can fall.
Calculators for Wilkes-Barre
Run the numbers for Wilkes-Barre with the local rates already filled in — change any input to test your own situation.
Salary needed to buy a home in Wilkes-Barre
To buy the typical $185,000 home in Wilkes-Barre with 20% down, you need a household income of roughly $50,000 a year (about $1,170 a month for the mortgage, taxes, and insurance). With 10% down the bar rises to about $60,000, because the loan is bigger and mortgage insurance kicks in.
| Down payment | Cash down | Monthly payment | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% (+PMI) | $9,300 | $1,460/mo | $63,000/yr |
| 10% (+PMI) | $18,500 | $1,400/mo | $60,000/yr |
| 20% | $37,000 | $1,170/mo | $50,000/yr |
Assumes a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5%, property tax at 1.1% and insurance at 0.45% of value per year, PMI of 0.75% on loans with less than 20% down, and the standard 28% housing-to-income rule. Your rate, taxes, and HOA will move these — run your own numbers in the mortgage calculator.
What your budget buys in Wilkes-Barre
At about $133 per square foot, here is roughly how much home different budgets get you in Wilkes-Barre:
| Budget | Approx. size | What that looks like locally |
|---|---|---|
| $150k | 1130 sq ft | around the typical home here |
| $200k | 1500 sq ft | around the typical home here |
| $250k | 1880 sq ft | above the median — larger homes or the pricier ZIPs |
| $300k | 2260 sq ft | above the median — larger homes or the pricier ZIPs |
| $400k | 3010 sq ft | above the median — larger homes or the pricier ZIPs |
Wondering where that budget goes further? The relocation calculator ranks hundreds of U.S. cities by what the same money buys — it opens pre-filled with a typical Wilkes-Barre home so you can see where a Wilkes-Barre budget goes further.
Wilkes-Barre home prices by ZIP code
Every Wilkes-Barre ZIP code we track, from the priciest to the most affordable. Click a ZIP for its own page with price per square foot, value by home size, and the salary needed to buy there.
| ZIP code | Typical home value | $ / sq ft | vs Wilkes-Barre median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18705 | $199,000 | $130 | +8% |
| 18706 | $188,000 | $136 | +2% |
| 18701 | $182,000 | $109 | -2% |
| 18702 | $182,000 | $135 | -2% |
Moving to Wilkes-Barre from somewhere else? Compare your current home against Wilkes-Barre prices — enter your ZIP and the calculator shows whether your budget buys more or less here.
Living in Wilkes-Barre: what to know before you move
Home prices tell you what it costs to buy in Wilkes-Barre, but daily life depends on much more. On housing alone, a typical home here runs $185,000 (~$133/sq ft), 36% more affordable than the national median — making Wilkes-Barre relatively affordable to buy in. That’s usually the biggest line in a household budget, but it’s only part of the picture. Here’s where to research the things home values don’t capture:
- Schools. School quality varies widely by neighborhood and shapes both family life and resale value. Check Wilkes-Barre school ratings and attendance zones on GreatSchools.
- Cost of living. Beyond the mortgage, weigh groceries, utilities, healthcare, and local taxes. Compare Wilkes-Barre’s cost of living.
- Safety. Crime and safety differ block to block, so check local data before settling on an area. Review Wilkes-Barre crime and safety stats.
- The bigger picture. For history, economy, climate, and local context, read about Wilkes-Barre on Wikipedia.
We specialize in housing data; the links above go to independent sources so you can verify schools, safety, and cost of living for yourself — the details that matter most when you’re choosing where to live.
Estimate your specific home in Wilkes-Barre
Enter your ZIP and size for an instant estimate tailored to your exact area:
Wilkes-Barre home prices: frequently asked
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Grow your home’s value in Wilkes-Barre
Use our Increase Home Value calculator to see which improvements add the most, or read the pre-sale projects that actually pay off. See how Wilkes-Barre stacks up against other Pennsylvania cities on the Pennsylvania home values page, or browse the full U.S. directory.
Directional estimates from public market data (Realtor.com & Zillow research), not appraisals. Actual values vary by home and change over time.
Nearby cities
Home prices in cities near Wilkes-Barre: