Back Mountain, Pennsylvania

Back Mountain
Former census-designated place
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Luzerne
Coordinates	41°19′13″N 75°58′22″W / 41.32028°N 75.97278°WCoordinates: 41°19′13″N 75°58′22″W / 41.32028°N 75.97278°W
Area	109.2 sq mi (283 km^2)
- land	107 sq mi (277 km^2)
- water	2.2 sq mi (6 km^2)
Population	26,690 (2000)
Density	249.5 / sq mi (96 / km^2)
Timezone	EST (UTC-4)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-5)
Area code	570
Location of Back Mountain in Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States

Back Mountain is a region and former census-designated place (CDP) in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is near the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The population was 26,690 at the 2000 census. The area was not delineated as a CDP for the 2010 census. The name "Back Mountain" refers to the area's location behind the mountain ridge forming the northwest side of the Wyoming Valley. The area includes the Lehman Township, the boroughs of Harveys Lake, Dallas, West Wyoming, and a part of Wyoming, and the unincorporated communities (now CDPs) of Trucksville and Shavertown in Kingston Township. Each township or borough is independently governed.

Geography

Back Mountain is located at 41°19′13″N 75°58′22″W / 41.32028°N 75.97278°W (41.320230, -75.972645).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 109.2 square miles (283 km²), of which 107.0 square miles (277 km²) was land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), or 2.05%, was water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 26,690 people, 9,267 households, and 6,894 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 249.5 people per square mile (96.3/km²). There were 9,997 housing units at an average density of 93.5/sq mi (36.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.45% White, 4.30% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 9,267 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 107.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $49,298, and the median income for a family was $57,342. Males had a median income of $39,566 versus $27,202 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,105. About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Mitchell Jenkins, former Republican U.S. congressman of Pennsylvania who lived in Shavertown toward the end of his life
• Jay McCarroll, winning designer of Season 1 of Project Runway, grew up in Lehman and attended Lake Lehman High School
• Greg Skrepenak, former NFL player, Luzerne County Commissioner and a convicted felon. He was convicted after admitting he received kickbacks for public contracts. On August 6, 2010, Skrepenak was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.

Colleges and universities

• Misericordia University in Dallas
• Penn State Wilkes-Barre in Lehman

References

1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
2. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.