Avoca is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Wilkes Barre and southwest of Scranton. The population was 2,501 at the time of the 2020 census. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport borders Avoca to the east.

History

The community was incorporated as a borough in 1871. Its original name was "Pleasant Valley", and in 1887, it changed to "Avoca", because the name "Pleasant Valley" was already used elsewhere in Pennsylvania. It was named after

Avoca, County Wicklow Avoca () is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca. The Avoca area has been associated with its copper mines for many years and the valley has been celebrated by Thomas Moor ...

, Ireland. In 1888, the majority of the 64 people killed in the Mud Run Disaster, a train wreck, were from Avoca. From 1945 to 1947, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport was constructed in and around Avoca. A small portion of the airport was built in Avoca, while most of it was constructed in the neighboring

Pittston Township Pittston Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The population was 3,179 as of the 2020 census. The township is located within the Greater Pittston region. As of 2010, the to ...

. Coal mining was the chief industry in the borough for many decades. After the 1959 Knox Mine Disaster, the mining industry in the region collapsed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of which is land. The borough is served by the Pittston Area School District.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,851 people, 1,177 households, and 787 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,267 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 99.26%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.14%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.14% Asian, 0.21%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.11% from other races, and 0.14% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.11% of the population. There were 1,177 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.06. In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $34,973, and the median income for a family was $44,185. Males had a median income of $33,835 versus $27,448 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $17,896. About 5.1% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over. The borough's population peaked in 1920 (with 4,950 residents). The population of Avoca has been in constant decline since the 1930s. The population had fallen to 2,630 by 2017.

Education

It is in the Pittston Area School District.
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Notable people

* Michael B. Carroll, member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

* Jack Harding, former

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

head football coach

References

{{authority control 1871 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1871