Living in Moscow, PA — The North Pocono Commute

Moscow is a small Lackawanna County borough of 2,039 residents (2020 Census), sitting roughly ten miles southeast of Scranton in the stretch of country locals call North Pocono — the transition zone where the valley gives way to the Pocono highlands.

That position is the whole appeal. You get wooded, low-density surroundings and a genuine small-borough feel, with Scranton’s jobs, hospitals and airport a manageable drive northwest, and the Pocono lakes and state parks out the other direction.

Schools

Moscow is the home of the North Pocono School District — the district is headquartered right here in the borough. It serves southern Lackawanna County and the extreme southern end of Wayne County, including Lake Ariel, where its Jefferson Elementary School sits.

For a lot of buyers in this area, the school district is the reason they are looking at North Pocono in the first place, and Moscow is its center of gravity.

School Performance

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

• North Pocono High School — Keystone Literature 65.9% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 43.5% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 95.1% (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.

Things to Do

Moscow is a small borough, so the calendar is a local one — but the surrounding region does the heavy lifting. Scranton’s theaters, restaurants and the Steamtown and anthracite museums are a short drive, and the Pocono lake country begins immediately southeast.

Outdoors & Parks

This is the strong suit. Gouldsboro State Park and its 250-acre lake, Tobyhanna State Park, and the surrounding state forest and game lands are all close, giving hiking, paddling, fishing and winter recreation without a long drive. Lake Wallenpaupack, the third-largest lake in Pennsylvania, is further east but well within a day trip.

Everyday Essentials

Local retail and services run through the borough and along the Route 435 and Interstate 380 corridor, with the full Scranton retail and hospital network about twenty minutes northwest. Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton is the only Level II trauma center in Lackawanna County.

The Homes

Moscow’s borough housing runs to older village homes on a compact grid, but the surrounding North Pocono townships are where most of the inventory sits — detached homes on wooded lots, on considerably more land than anything in the Wyoming Valley or the mid-valley boroughs.

Because the area straddles borough and township lines, taxes and services vary meaningfully between two houses that look like neighbors. Confirm the municipality on any listing before you run your numbers, and check whether a property is on public water and sewer or on a well and septic system — out here it is frequently the latter, and that belongs in your inspection budget.