Mountain Top is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 10,982. The Mountain Top CDP is located along

Pennsylvania Route 309 Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) is a state highway that runs for 134 miles (216 km) through eastern Pennsylvania. The route runs from an interchange between PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township n ...

(south of

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

) in Fairview,

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

townships and Dorrance Township.

Name

The area's name is properly spelled "Mountain Top". The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

uses the spelling "Mountain Top" for ZIP Code 18707, and the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

spells it "Mountain Top" on a Pennsylvania

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a publi ...

. However, some businesses in Mountain Top spell their community as a single word, "Mountaintop".

Geography

Mountain Top, once named "Penobscot", is located in central Luzerne County at (41.1353022, -75.9044749). The CDP extends north to Solomon Gap, which separates Penobscot Knob to the west from Haystack Mountain to the east. To the south, the CDP includes the settlements of Fairview Heights, Wech Corners, Rita, Albert, Rippletown, and Lindbergh. The ridge of

Nescopeck Mountain Nescopeck Mountain (also known as Nescopec Mountain) is a ridge in Columbia County and Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of wh ...

is in the southeast part of the CDP. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. The Mountain Top CDP is within the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

watershed. The village center sits on a

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

between

Solomon Creek Solomon Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Fairview Township, Hanover Township, and Wilkes-Barre. The creek is affected by acid mine ...

, which flows north through Solomon Gap to the Susquehanna near

, and Big Wapwallopen Creek, which flows to the southwest to the Susquehanna at Wapwallopen. East of the CDP the ground rises to Arbutus Peak and Stony Cabin Ridge, both above sea level, beyond which is the

Lehigh River The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...

basin leading to the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

. Mountain Top is northwest of White Haven, at the head end of the Lehigh River, northeast of Hazleton, and south of Wilkes-Barre on

. Consequently, even though regional railroads are much diminished in scope and influence, Mountain Top Yard, once used as a marshaling yard at the top of the Ashley Planes

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...

(cable-driven) railway, is still an important regional element of the transportation infrastructure connecting Allentown and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

with points north and west via trackage to several yards in

New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

. The elevation within the Mountain Top CDP ranges from above sea level along Big Wapwallopen Creek in the southwest, to atop Nescopeck Mountain southwest of Rita, to at the east end of Penobscot Mountain in the north of the CDP. The central village of Mountain Top sits at just south of Penobscot Mountain.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2019, there were 11,489 people, which is a slight increase from 10,701 people in 2011. 5,556 households, and 4,394 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 224.0 people per square mile (86.5/km²). There were 5,774 housing units at an average density of 84.7/sq mi (32.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.02%

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

, 0.54%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.03% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population. There were 5,556 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were

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

living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.10. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,655, and the median income for a family was $58,588. Males had a median income of $41,271 versus $26,346 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $22,480. About 2.9% of families and 3.4% 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 3.7% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Mountain Top is located in the Crestwood Area School District, which covers over . This area includes Dennison Township, Dorrance Township, Fairview Township, Nuangola Borough, Rice Township, Slocum Township, White Haven Borough, Wright Township, and Penn Lake Borough. The Crestwood School District consists of four schools: *Rice Elementary School - Rice Township (Grades K-6). *Fairview Elementary School - Fairview Township (Grades K-6) *Crestwood Middle School - Wright Township (Grades 7 and 8) * Crestwood High School - Wright Township (Grades 9-12). St. Jude's Catholic School, in Wright Township, serves grades K-8, after which students can continue Catholic education by attending Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre.

References

External links

Crestwood School District''Mountaintop Eagle''
newspaper {{authority control Census-designated places in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Pennsylvania