Living in Duryea, PA — Two Rivers and a Ledge

Duryea sits where the Lackawanna River meets the North Branch of the Susquehanna — the Susquehanna forms the borough’s western boundary, and the Lackawanna runs right through it. Forty settlers came up from Connecticut and landed near that confluence in February 1769. The borough incorporated in 1901 and took its name from Hiram Duryea, a Civil War general and coal-and-railroad figure; the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western named its stops along this line after company officials.

About 5,000 people live here now — and unlike most small boroughs in the valley, Duryea is growing. It’s nine miles south of Scranton and ten northeast of Wilkes-Barre, with I-81 and US-11 running through the eastern section and the Turnpike’s Northeast Extension a short hop off PA-315.

Food & Drink

• Town Tavern on Foote Avenue is the local legend — established 1989, cash only, and it ships its signature wing sauces, including “Killer” and “Butter Garlic,” nationwide.
• Colarusso’s 2.0 on Main Street blends the Colarusso family’s multi-generational recipes with the Zambetti family’s touch, known for square pizza alongside homemade pasta and seafood.
• Marie’s Diner on McAlpine Street is family-owned and open for breakfast from 6 a.m. on weekdays, with house desserts like cherry pie and bread pudding.
• McAlpine St Pub & Pizza builds its pies on a 40-year-old crust recipe.

Just over the line, Pizza Althea occupies a former bank building in Pittston, and The Refinery on Kennedy Boulevard sources seasonal ingredients from across Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Things to Do

The Germania Hose Company Annual Bazaar on Foote Avenue is the borough’s signature event — a four-day carnival in late July that’s the fire company’s biggest fundraiser of the year, held for the better part of a century. There’s a firemen’s parade Friday at 7, carnival rides, live music, fireworks Sunday at 10, and food that runs to wings, fries, pierogies, haluski and potato pancakes. The same company runs an annual spring car show and an electronics recycling day. The borough puts on Easter egg hunts, Santa visits and Halloween parties at Healey Playground, and the Pittston Tomato Festival is next door each August.

Outdoors & Parks

This is Duryea’s strongest suit, and it’s actively getting better.

Campbell’s Ledge rises to about 1,280 feet right in the borough, with views over roughly 30 miles of the Wyoming Valley and the Susquehanna directly below. It’s designated one of Luzerne County’s Natural Heritage Areas for its steep cliffs, rare species and geology. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission also calls it “Dial Rock” — early settlers used it as a sundial, because the cliff face lights up at noon. Note that it is a steep cliff site with former mine workings, now fenced.

And it’s being permanently protected. In November 2025 the Trust for Public Land completed Phase 1, protecting 246 acres and transferring them to the Borough of Duryea for public benefit. In January 2026 the state DCNR announced $594,700 more toward acquiring roughly 230 additional acres for Campbell’s Ledge Preserve, plus $369,000 to the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority for trail work.

Separately, the borough bought a 160-plus-acre wetlands site along the Susquehanna floodplain and is working with LHVA on a 2.5-mile loop trail through ponds, islands and river habitat. Duryea is also the southern anchor of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, a roughly 70-mile system linking more than 30 communities across four counties — though through the Duryea/Pittston stretch the route currently follows existing roadways rather than a finished off-road path.

Two borough parks: Healey Playground at Foote and Wright has been there over fifty years, with a basketball court, swings, sliding boards, small-children’s equipment and a covered pavilion. Community Park behind the Borough Building adds a walking trail, basketball and roller hockey courts, a “Webscape,” a five-slide Mega Tower and a fenced play area. Both pavilions rent year-round.

Buyers should also know Duryea has a documented flood history — Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee caused severe flooding along the Lackawanna in September 2011, and the borough held a flood insurance roundtable in June 2026. Ask us about flood zone status on any specific address.

Gyms & Fitness

Fame Strength on Stephenson Street combines sports-performance work with customized personal training, with programs for youth, high school and collegiate athletes led by certified strength and conditioning coaches. It grew from an underground gym into a multi-location operator with sister locations in Forty Fort and Dallas. Planet Fitness in Pittston is the nearest 24-hour option.

Schools

Duryea is served by the Pittston Area School District — about 42 square miles, created in 1966 from six districts, enrolling roughly 3,250 students at a 17–18:1 ratio. Niche gives it an overall C+ (Niche, 2026). The graduation rate is 93%, in the top 20% of Pennsylvania districts; math proficiency is 28% and reading 43%, placing the district in the bottom half statewide on combined proficiency (PublicSchoolReview, 2022–23 assessment data). None of the four buildings is in Duryea itself — the high school is in Yatesville, middle and intermediate in Pittston, primary in Hughestown. Teams play as the Patriots.

School Performance

State assessment results for the high school serving Duryea, from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Future Ready PA Index, 2024–25 school year:

• Pittston Area Senior High School — Keystone Literature 53.0% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 29.5% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 90.7% (statewide 88.0%)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education, Future Ready PA Index, 2024–25. We publish these same three measures, from this same source, on every community page in this guide.

Everyday Essentials

Duryea has no major retail center; residents use the Pittston corridor, Birney Plaza and The Shoppes at Montage. Geisinger Pittston on North Main Street is about two miles out for primary care, lab and radiology, with Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre for hospital care. The borough itself provides public works, police, ambulance, building inspections, garbage and recycling, and a CodeRed emergency notification system.

The Homes

Duryea’s growth came during the coal-and-silk era around the turn of the 20th century, and much of the housing stock dates from that period. Homeownership sits near 70%. There’s no large-scale new subdivision activity — new builds here are typically custom or modular on infill lots — and inventory is tight, with only a handful of homes listed at any given time. With roughly 29 homes selling in a typical year, monthly medians in a borough this size swing widely, so talk to us for current, address-level comps.