POLL: Scranton vs. Wilkes-Barre (Northampton, Pittston: 2011, lofts, condos)

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by MovingOutOfNJ

lol no sir-- elizabeth, NJ area.

Elizabeth is not much better than Camden from what I hear. So yeah Wilkes-Barre probably does look a lot like Elizabeth, Paterson, etc.

[MovingOutOfNJ]

Originally Posted by go phillies

Elizabeth is not much better than Camden from what I hear. So yeah Wilkes-Barre probably does look a lot like Elizabeth, Paterson, etc.

are you from elizabeth?.. cause i doubt you have the slightest clue... elizabeth isnt as bad as you think... so dont listen to "what you hear" cause you dont know. W-B certainly does NOT look like paterson.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by MovingOutOfNJ

W-B certainly does NOT look like paterson.

That's true, Paterson's probably been making strides and cleaning up. I think Paterson exported a lot of their residents....they now hang around public square in Wilkes-Barre all day trying to bum cigarettes off of passers-by.

[MovingOutOfNJ]

Originally Posted by go phillies

That's true, Paterson's probably been making strides and cleaning up. I think Paterson exported a lot of their residents....they now hang around public square in Wilkes-Barre all day trying to bum cigarettes off of passers-by.

Your a real funny guy, Hilarious. You should persue a career in stand-up... really..

So really let me ask you, whats so bad about elizabeth and paterson.. from what you hear.. since you dont know.

[MovingOutOfNJ]

scranton 2006 vs elizabeth 2007

72,000 residents to 124,000 residents
94 sex offenders to 2
20% Poverty Level to 16%
35.5 Rapes per 100,000to 19.9
284 assaults per 100,000 to 227
27.3 arsons per 100,000 to 11.1

There are More Murders and Car thefts in elizabeth, but theres also 50,000 more people living there.And people claim the crime in scranton has gotten worse.. so what makes elizabeth so bad.

[go phillies]

Granted I don't know much about Elizabeth, but I've seen Paterson on COPS many times, it seems like a rough place.

I love that Paterson cop that's always on the show...he's great!

[MovingOutOfNJ]

Paterson & Irvington(similar kind of city) are two of the nastiest neighborhoods you'll ever see :-\

[ScranBarre]

Scranton is more like a mini-Pittsburgh than anything else with its mountainous scenery, distinctive neighborhoods, historic architecture, and down-to-earth mentality. Wilkes-Barre reminds me of a smaller version of Philadelphia with its neatly-aligned downtown district surrounded by a few nice yet very densely-populated neighborhoods (and some very sketchy ones for sure).

[ScranBarre]

For those of you wanting to see some more objective comparisons between the two cities, here are some recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau:

POPULATION

2007 Population
Scranton: 72,485
Wilkes-Barre: 41,069

POPULATION LOSS: 2000-2007
Scranton: -3,930 or -5.1%
Wilkes-Barre: -2,054 or -4.8%

POPULATION LOSS: 1990-2000
Scranton: -5,390 or -6.6%
Wilkes-Barre: -4,400 or -9.3%

POPULATION LOSS: 1990-2007
Scranton: -9,320 or -11.4%
Wilkes-Barre: -6,454 or -13.6%

My analysis: While Scranton has noticed deeper declines in terms of raw numbers, also realize that it had "more to lose" than its much smaller sister city of Wilkes-Barre. The Diamond City has lost a greater percentage of its population than Scranton has from 1990-2000 as well as from 1990-2007, but the roles have reversed from 2000-2007, with Scranton bleeding residents at faster pace under Mayor Doherty's leadership than Wilkes-Barre, which has slowed its population decline under Mayor Leighton.

POVERTY

Individuals Living in Poverty: 2000
Scranton: 15.0%
Wilkes-Barre: 17.8%

Individuals Living in Poverty: 2007
Scranton: 20.5%
Wilkes-Barre: 21.2%

Increase in Individuals Living in Poverty: 2000-2007
Scranton: +5.5%
Wilkes-Barre: +3.4%

Families Living in Poverty: 2000
Scranton: 10.7%
Wilkes-Barre: 12.1%

Families Living in Poverty: 2007
Scranton: 15.3%
Wilkes-Barre: 16.6%

Increase in Families Living in Poverty: 2000-2007
Scranton: +4.6%
Wilkes-Barre: +4.5%

My analysis: Both of our core cities have poverty levels FAR above the state and national averages, which really shouldn't come as much of a shock to anyone. What is a shocker though is that during the era of President Bush poverty rates have skyrocketed in our urban areas. More than 1/5 of each city is now officially impoverished. What is also interesting is that even though Wilkes-Barre currently has the higher poverty rate, Scranton's has been climbing upwards more quickly than Wilkes-Barre's for the past seven years and will eventually become more impoverished than Wilkes-Barre if these trends continue.

EDUCATION

Percentage of Population Aged 25+ With a High School Diploma or Higher: 2000
Scranton: 78.2%
Wilkes-Barre: 76.8%

Percentage of Population Aged 25+ With a High School Diploma or Higher: 2007
Scranton: 82.4%
Wilkes-Barre: 83.3%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 25+ With a High School Diploma or Higher: 2000-2007
Scranton: +4.2%
Wilkes-Barre: +6.5%

Percentage of Population Aged 25+ With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000
Scranton: 15.6%
Wilkes-Barre: 12.8%

Percentage of Population Aged 25+ With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2007
Scranton: 18.3%
Wilkes-Barre: 14.3%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 25+ With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000-2007
Scranton: +2.7%
Wilkes-Barre: +1.5%

Percentage of Population Aged 25-34 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000
Scranton: 20.4%
Wilkes-Barre: 17.6%

Percentage of Population Aged 25-34 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2007
Scranton: 27.2%
Wilkes-Barre: 20.5%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 25-34 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000-2007
Scranton: +6.8%
Wilkes-Barre: +2.9%

Percentage of Population Aged 35-44 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000
Scranton: 19.6%
Wilkes-Barre: 14.8%

Percentage of Population Aged 35-44 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2007
Scranton: 18.8%
Wilkes-Barre: 10.3%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 35-44 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000-2007
Scranton: -0.8%
Wilkes-Barre: -4.5%

Percentage of Population Aged 45-64 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000
Scranton: 16.2%
Wilkes-Barre: 15.2%

Percentage of Population Aged 45-64 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2007
Scranton: 19.5%
Wilkes-Barre: 18.6%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 45-65 With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher
Scranton: +3.3%
Wilkes-Barre: +3.4%

Percentage of Population Aged 65+ With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000
Scranton: 9.4%
Wilkes-Barre: 6.2%

Percentage of Population Aged 65+ With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2007
Scranton: 10.4%
Wilkes-Barre: 7.3%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 65+ With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 2000-2007
Scranton: +1.0%
Wilkes-Barre: +1.1%

Percentage of Population Aged 25+ With a Graduate Degree: 2000
Scranton: 5.9%
Wilkes-Barre: 4.7%

Percentage of Population Aged 25+ With a Graduate Degree: 2007
Scranton: 6.1%
Wilkes-Barre: 4.0%

Percentage Change of Population Aged 25+ With a Graduate Degree: 2000-2007
Scranton: +0.2%
Wilkes-Barre: -0.7%

My analysis: While Scranton remains the better-educated city on an overall basis, Wilkes-Barre has been making some positive strides, most noticeably overtaking Scranton in terms of the percentage of city residents at least 25-years-old with a high school diploma with solid gains between 2000 and 2007. I was shocked to see the mass exodus of college-educated 35-44-year-olds from both cities, but my theory is that this is now the time when many college graduates are well-established in their careers and are starting to rear children (hence the move to suburbia at this point in their lives to raise them in a "better" area). In a sense to see poverty rates climbing at the same time as both cities are becoming more literate is disheartening.

INCOME

Median Household Income, 2000
Scranton: $28,805
Wilkes-Barre: $26,711

Median Household Income, 2007
Scranton: $32,484
Wilkes-Barre: $28,777

Change in Median Household Income: 2000-2007
Scranton: +$3,679 or +$525.60/Year
Wilkes-Barre: +$2,066 or +$295.14/Year

My analysis: We're in deep, deep trouble, folks. Imagine getting an annual raise that only amounts to under $300 per year. That's the reality for the typical Wilkes-Barre household, even when gas prices spiked, taxes are rising $70/year, health care premiums are soaring, etc. It should come as no surprise that real wages (your wages manipulated to reflect "spending power") have declined sharply from 2000-2007, hence the surge in local poverty rates (way to go, President Bush!) Wilkes-Barre is in immense trouble. Scranton's 2000 median household income was higher than the 2007 median household income for Wilkes-Barre!


This is all I'm doing for now. If you all want to see more, feel free to let me know!

[ScranBarre]

To be fair though Scranton just has a greater number of historic and leafy neighborhoods that many "eggheads" find to be desirable (Green Ridge, Hill Section, parts of West Side, etc.) whereas I can't envision too many Ph.D.'s wanting to live in Wilkes-Barre's Heights, Goose Island, or Miners Mills neighborhoods. I can rattle off at least four King's faculty members with professional degrees who live in Scranton, and MANY live in Kingston. Only two that I can think of live in the city of Wilkes-Barre---one in the Heights and one in Parsons.

EDIT: This was in response to a reply that was posted and then quickly deleted by the poster. It mentioned that it should come as no surprise that Scranton is a more desirable city to attract college graduates.