Mountain Top is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,982. Mountain Top 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 Pennsylvania Route 611, PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia ...

, south of

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

, in Dorrance, Fairview,

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, and

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England and Scotland. 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 ...

townships.

Name

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

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 Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

spells it "Mountain Top" on a Pennsylvania

driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit 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, ca ...

. 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 Penobscot Knob, also Penobscot Mountain, is a summit that is located in the western fringe of the Poconos nearest to Mountain Top, Pennsylvania. The Solomon Gap pass below it contains an important multi-modal transportation corridor. History ...

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, Pennsylvania, Columbia County and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. Its elevation is above sea level. The ridg ...

is in the southeast part of Mountain Top. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Mountain Top has a total area of , all of it land. Mountain Top is in the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

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 single ...

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 Big Wapwallopen Creek (also known as Wapwallopen Creek or Big Wap) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania, B ...

, which flows to the southwest to the Susquehanna at Wapwallopen. East of Mountain Top, 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 ...

basin leading to the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

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

. Even though regional railroads are much diminished in scope and influence,

Mountain Top Yard Mountain Top yard or Penobscot yard is a rail yard in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company (LC&N) in response to an 1837 bill authorizing a right of way and was established by 1840, at least as a cons ...

, once used as a marshaling yard at the top of the

Ashley Planes Ashley Planes was a historic freight cable railroad situated along three separately powered inclined plane sections located between Ashley, Pennsylvania at the foot, and via the Solomon cutting the yard in Mountain Top over above and initially ...

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

railway, is still a regional element of the transportation infrastructure connecting

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

with points north and west via trackage to several yards in

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. The elevation in Mountain Top 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 north Mountain Top. The central village of Mountain Top sits at just south of

Penobscot Mountain Penobscot Knob, also Penobscot Mountain, is a summit that is located in the western fringe of the Poconos nearest to Mountain Top, Pennsylvania. The Solomon Gap pass below it contains an important multi-modal transportation corridor. History an ...

Demographics

As of the 2019 census, 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 was . There were 5,774 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.02%

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 ...

, 0.54%

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 ...

, 0.03% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.56% 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 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 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, 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 Mountain Top, 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 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 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 School District,
Text list
/ref> which covers over and 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 in Wright Township (Grades 9-12). St. Jude's Catholic School, in Wright Township, serves grades K-8, after which students can continue

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

education at

Holy Redeemer High School Holy Redeemer High School is a high school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton. It is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States. It is currently the only Catholic high school in Luzerne County. History In January 2007, Bishop ...

References

External links

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