Living in Hanover Township, PA — The County’s Biggest Township

Hanover Township holds 11,424 residents as of the 2020 Census, which makes it the most populous township in Luzerne County — larger than most of the boroughs and cities around it, and larger than a lot of people assume.

It runs along the Sans Souci Parkway, the main thoroughfare connecting Wilkes-Barre and Nanticoke, which gives the township an unusual shape and an unusual advantage: you are on a direct commercial artery between two population centers, with township taxes and township lot sizes rather than city ones.

Food & Drink

The Sans Souci Parkway is where the township eats. The Parkway Diner is a family-owned and operated fixture serving breakfast, lunch and dinner — homemade American comfort food with Italian and Greek influences, hand-pressed Angus burgers and fresh salads. Ktrachos Restaurant at 836 Sans Souci Parkway serves Honduran food, open Tuesday through Saturday 8am–8pm and Sunday 1–6pm. Don’s Deli sits at 802 Sans Souci Parkway. Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s full restaurant scene is a few minutes northeast.

Things to Do

Hanover Township’s position does the work: downtown Wilkes-Barre with its theaters, arena and riverfront is minutes northeast, Nanticoke and Luzerne County Community College are minutes southwest, and the Route 315 corridor with Mohegan Pennsylvania is a short drive. The township also carries a substantial industrial and commercial base of its own, which is part of why it has held its population while smaller boroughs shrank.

Outdoors & Parks

The Susquehanna forms the township’s northern boundary, with state game lands in the hills to the south. Nanticoke’s Susquehanna Warrior Trail and Canal Park are close by for hiking, biking and fishing, and the Back Mountain state parks are a twenty-minute drive west.

Schools

Hanover Township is served by the Hanover Area School District, a midsized district serving the township plus the boroughs of Ashley, Sugar Notch and Warrior Run — a service area of roughly 15,500 people. Luzerne County Community College is minutes away in Nanticoke, and Wilkes University and King’s College are both in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

School Performance

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

• Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School — Keystone Literature 27.4% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 11.4% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 80.7% (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

The Sans Souci Parkway carries everyday retail and services along its length, with the full Wilkes-Barre Township big-box district a few minutes northeast. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, operated by the nonprofit Tenor Health Foundation since February 2026, is minutes away with a full emergency department.

The Homes

Because Hanover Township is large and was never confined to a single dense borough grid, the housing is more varied than in the boroughs around it: older village-style housing in the established sections near the parkway, and newer detached homes on more generous lots in the areas set back from it. Township lot sizes and a township tax structure are the practical difference from buying in Wilkes-Barre proper, and it is worth comparing the two side by side.

One honest flood note: during the record 2011 Susquehanna crest, boils were discovered in the earthen levee in Hanover Township and required attention. The levee system held and there was no overtopping, but low-lying ground near the river is floodplain and should be checked parcel by parcel before you write an offer.