Living in Mount Pocono, PA — Small Borough, Big Region

Mount Pocono is a compact borough of 3,089 residents (2020 Census) sitting at the crossroads of the Pocono resort region in Monroe County — a county of 168,327 people that functions as Northeastern Pennsylvania’s vacation and second-home belt.

The borough itself is small. What you are buying into is position: Mount Pocono is the commercial and highway hub that the surrounding resort townships run through, which means you get services and access without living down a private community road.

Things to Do

This is a region built around recreation. Ski areas, waterparks, resorts, state parks and lakes surround the borough in every direction, and the Pocono visitor economy keeps restaurants, retail and entertainment running year-round rather than seasonally — which is not true of every mountain town.

Outdoors & Parks

State parks and state forest land ring the area, with Gouldsboro State Park and its 250-acre lake to the north and the broader Pocono lake country all around. Hiking, paddling, fishing and winter sports are all inside a short drive rather than a day trip.

Schools

Mount Pocono is served by the Pocono Mountain School District — and the scale of it is worth understanding. It is the largest school district in Northeastern Pennsylvania, covering 305 square miles and serving roughly 55,000 residents across eight townships plus Mount Pocono borough: Tobyhanna, Tunkhannock, Coolbaugh, Jackson, Paradise, Pocono and Barrett townships.

One naming caution for anyone searching from the Wyoming Valley: the Tunkhannock Township in this district is in Monroe County and has nothing to do with Tunkhannock borough, the Wyoming County seat an hour away. Two different places, same name.

School Performance

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

• Pocono Mountain East High School — Keystone Literature 73.9% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 57.2% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 94.2% (statewide 88.0%)
• Pocono Mountain West High School — Keystone Literature 63.7% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 41.7% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 98.2% (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

Mount Pocono carries the retail and services for a wide surrounding area — groceries, pharmacies and the commercial strip that the resort townships depend on. Regional hospitals serve Monroe County from the Stroudsburg area.

The Homes

Housing here splits between borough properties and the enormous inventory of private lake and resort communities in the surrounding townships — many with association dues, amenities and rules that materially change what you are buying and what it costs to hold. A house inside a gated community and a house on a borough street can look similar in a listing and be completely different purchases.

Ask about the association, the dues, the road maintenance and the short-term-rental rules on any Pocono property before you write. Those four things move the real cost more than the price does.