Living in Exeter, PA — The School District’s Center of Gravity

Exeter is a Susquehanna borough of 5,513 residents (2020 Census), sitting just upriver from Pittston in the stretch of valley midway between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. It was settled by families who came west from the Connecticut Colony and takes its name from Exeter in Devon, England. The early village was agricultural; the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought the anthracite boom and, with it, waves of European immigrants who built the borough that stands today.

If you have school-age children, Exeter is the practical center of this side of the river — more on that below.

Food & Drink

Pizza L’Oven is the name to know. The family opened the original shop in Forty Fort in 1975 and brought a second location to Exeter in 1982; the pan-fried Sicilian pizza has been a Wyoming Valley staple for half a century. Pittston’s revitalized Main Street restaurant row is a five-minute drive downriver, and the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton dining scenes are each roughly twenty minutes in opposite directions.

Things to Do

Exeter’s advantage is position rather than spectacle. You are minutes from downtown Pittston’s revitalized Main Street and its August tomato festival, minutes from the Susquehanna, and almost exactly midway between the region’s two cities — which means access to both without committing to either commute. West Pittston’s Cherry Blossom Festival, in early May, is right next door.

Outdoors & Parks

The Susquehanna runs along the borough’s edge, and the Back Mountain’s state parks — Frances Slocum among them — are a short drive west. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, which carries an Avoca address and sits in neighboring Pittston Township, is minutes away.

Schools

Exeter is served by the Wyoming Area School District, which covers roughly 26 square miles across six municipalities: Exeter, West Pittston, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Harding and Falls Township.

Here is what makes Exeter distinctive for families: the district’s secondary school is here. The Wyoming Area Secondary Center serves grades 7 through 12 at 252 Memorial Street, at the corner of Memorial and Penn Avenue — and the district’s John F. Kennedy Elementary School, which handles kindergarten and Head Start, is in Exeter as well. Two of the district’s buildings sit inside this borough, including the one every student in the district eventually attends. The other elementary buildings are Montgomery Avenue Elementary (grades 4–6) in West Pittston and Tenth Street Elementary (grades 1–3) in Wyoming.

School Performance

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

• Wyoming Area Secondary Center — Keystone Literature 48.6% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 24.9% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 94.3% (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

Pittston and West Pittston cover groceries and daily errands within minutes, with the full Wilkes-Barre retail and hospital network about fifteen minutes south. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, run by the nonprofit Tenor Health Foundation since February 2026, is the nearest hospital with an emergency department; Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton is the region’s Level II trauma center.

The Homes

Exeter’s housing stock is what the anthracite era built — closely spaced singles and doubles on a grid, with the older and larger homes concentrated on the established avenues. It is a practical, moderately priced borough whose main draw is the school district and the position between two cities.

One note specific to this stretch of the valley: portions of the low-lying river side of the borough sit in the Susquehanna floodplain. Ask for the flood determination and an insurance quote on any parcel near the water before you write an offer — the difference between two otherwise similar houses can be substantial.