Is Scranton, Pennsylvania Safe? A 2026 Travel Safety Guide
The Office tourism, Steamtown National Historic Site, Pennsylvania winter cold, district variation, and the realistic risks of NE Pennsylvania's biggest city.
Scranton is moderately safe for tourists. Most "tourists" here are NBC's "The Office" fans visiting the show's setting (which was actually filmed in Los Angeles, but Dunder Mifflin Scranton is real-set canon). Crime against visitors in the modest tourist sites + downtown is uncommon.
The realistic concerns are city-wide crime statistics (Scranton is a former coal town, with associated post-industrial socioeconomic profile), the Pennsylvania winter cold + snow, and the standard "no walking through the wrong neighbourhoods at night" rule.
Scranton is small (~75,000 city, 565,000 metro). Steamtown National Historic Site, the "Welcome to Scranton" sign (the Office sign), the Electric City Trolley Museum, and Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour are visitor anchors.
The city sits in the Lackawanna Valley between two ridges of the Appalachian Plateau, ringed by old anthracite-coal patches and the legacy of a 19th-century industrial boom. The grid downtown around Courthouse Square is solid late-Victorian brick — the Lackawanna County Courthouse, the Steamtown rail yards, the old Lackawanna Station (now the Radisson hotel), and the Scranton Cultural Center in the imposing Masonic Temple. Joe Biden's birthplace at 2446 N. Washington Avenue is a low-key drive-by stop. The Office has done more for Scranton tourism in the past 20 years than anything else; the city has leaned hard into it.
| Violent crime (tourists) | High |
|---|---|
| Data sources cited | 4 |
| Last verified |
What the score means — 80/100
- Healthcare (84) — Geisinger Community Medical Center.
- Air quality (84) — moderate.
- Transport (78) — COLTS bus + rideshare; rental car common.
- Personal safety (76) — moderate. Tourist-area crime mostly property.
The Office — fan-tourism reality
- Reality check: the show was almost entirely filmed in LA; Scranton is the canonical setting only.
- "Welcome to Scranton" sign: at I-81 / Scranton interchange. Pull over for the photo.
- Mall at Steamtown: the show's reference point. Real mall.
- Cooper's Seafood House: visited by the cast.
- Self-guided "Office" walking tour: visit Scranton's tourism site for the map.
- Annual "Office" convention (Scranton Office Fan Fest): October.
Areas — Downtown, Hill, South Side
Recommended for visitors: Downtown / Wyoming Avenue (walkable; Scranton Cultural Center; restaurants), The Hill section (residential, near University of Scranton).
Stay aware: parts of South Side + West Scranton at night, around the Greyhound bus station. The high-crime areas aren't on tourist itineraries.
Pennsylvania winter cold
- December-March: -5 to -15°C standard. Lake-effect snow possible.
- Boots with grip: essential.
- Best season: April-October.
Transport + the airport
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP): 12 km south. Limited flights. Most fly to Newark (EWR), 2h east, and drive.
- COLTS buses: city + suburban.
- Uber + Lyft: cheap.
Money + cost
- Tipping: 18-22%.
- Tax: 6% PA sales tax (no tax on clothing).
- Cost: hotels $90-180/night.
- Local food: Scranton-style pizza (square; rectangular cuts).
Neighbourhoods — Downtown, the Hill, Green Ridge, Steamtown, I-81
- Downtown Scranton — Courthouse Square, Lackawanna Avenue, Mulberry Street. The Lackawanna County Courthouse (1884, anchoring the square — also the show's opening titles), the Scranton Cultural Center in the Masonic Temple, the historic Lackawanna Station (now the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel), the bar strip on Mulberry, the AAA-baseball stadium PNC Field (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders) is actually 15 min north in Moosic.
- Steamtown National Historic Site — adjacent to downtown, occupying the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad yards. Free admission (it's a National Park unit), working steam engines, Smithsonian-affiliated, takes a half-day to do properly.
- The Hill Section — residential neighbourhood east of downtown, around University of Scranton. Brick and frame turn-of-the-century houses, leafy streets, comfortably safe at any hour. Most University parents'-weekend visitors stay here.
- Green Ridge — residential neighbourhood north-east of downtown. Calmer, family-oriented, the Nay Aug Park (with the historic Everhart Museum).
- The Office — fan-tourism geography — the show was filmed in LA but the canon set Scranton. Real-world Office stops: the "Welcome to Scranton" sign at the I-81 / Scranton interchange (pull over for the photo), the Mall at Steamtown (now Marketplace at Steamtown — the show's "Steamtown Mall"), Cooper's Seafood House (the giant lighthouse-shaped restaurant with the Pam-gift-shop reference), Poor Richard's Pub. The Scranton Office Convention each October sells out months ahead.
- I-81 corridor — the major north-south interstate slicing through Scranton, connecting to Wilkes-Barre 30 min south and to Binghamton/Syracuse north. Most arrivals come via I-81.
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP) — 12 km south, limited flights (mostly to ORD, ATL, PHL via American/United). Most international visitors fly to Newark (EWR, 2 hours east) and drive.
- Stay aware: parts of South Side, West Scranton outside the Italian-restaurant strip on West Lackawanna, and the immediate Greyhound bus terminal area after dark. None of these are on tourist itineraries.
- Anthracite-country context — Scranton was the heart of the US hard-coal industry from 1850s-1950s. The Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour (in McDade Park) is the genuine industrial-history experience; the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum sits next door.
If it's your first time in Scranton
- Arrival: Newark (EWR) is the standard international gateway — 2 hours east via I-80. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International (AVP) is 12 km south with limited domestic flights (Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Charlotte). Rental car essential from either.
- Where to stay: the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel (in the restored 1908 station building, the most atmospheric option), Hilton Scranton & Conference Center, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express. $90-180/night.
- The Office walking tour: start at the "Welcome to Scranton" sign at the I-81 / Davis Street exit, then Courthouse Square (the opening-titles courthouse), Cooper's Seafood House for lunch, Poor Richard's Pub for evening. Scranton's tourism site (visitnepa.org) has the printable self-guided map.
- Steamtown + Coal Mine: Steamtown National Historic Site is half a day (free, working steam engines, the railroad yard), Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour at McDade Park is another half-day (descend 300 ft into a real anthracite mine, well-narrated). These two are the genuine non-Office tourism.
- Eat Scranton-style pizza: square cuts (not slices), thick crust, often with cheese under the sauce. Old Forge style is the regional speciality. Revello's, Salerno's, Arcaro & Genell are the named institutions.
- Winter is real: December-March -5 to -15°C with lake-effect snow possible. Wear actual boots with grip (not city sneakers). PennDOT plows are efficient but black ice on I-81 and I-380 is genuinely dangerous.
- Day-trip range: Wilkes-Barre 30 min south, Poconos resorts 60 min south-east, NYC 2 hours east, Philadelphia 2 hours south. Scranton is a viable stop on an NYC-Niagara road-trip.
- Common rookie mistakes: expecting the show to have been filmed here (it wasn't, it was LA); booking the Office Convention without months of notice (sells out); walking near the Greyhound terminal late at night; underestimating how early things close (most restaurants 22:00 weekdays, midnight Friday-Saturday).
- Tap water + cash: tap water safe; cards universal; tipping 18-22%; Pennsylvania has no sales tax on clothing.
Practical info — emergency numbers
- Emergency: 911.
- Scranton Police non-emergency: 570-348-4134.
- Geisinger CMC ER: 570-703-8000.
Bring: warm cold-weather layers Nov-March, comfortable walking shoes, US-valid travel insurance.
Frequently asked questions
Is Scranton, Pennsylvania safe to visit in 2026?
Yes — Scranton scores 80/100 here. The US sits at UK FCDO's lowest advisory tier. Scranton (population ~75,000, the heart of the Lackawanna Valley) is a post-industrial Northeast Pennsylvania city with the standard Rust-Belt safety profile: a calm, walkable downtown around Courthouse Square and the Steamtown National Historic Site, comfortable arts/restaurant neighbourhoods (the Hill Section, Green Ridge), and rougher edges in West Scranton and parts of South Side. Violent crime is below the US urban average. Tourists come for The Office filming locations, Steamtown, and the Marywood/University of Scranton parents' weekends — none of these venues are in higher-risk areas.
Is Scranton safe at night?
Yes — downtown Scranton's bar strip on Mulberry/Lackawanna Avenue (the Backyard Ale House crowd, the Bar Louis crowd, etc.) is busy on weekends with a heavy Scranton PD presence; the AAA-baseball RailRiders crowd in summer adds family foot traffic. The Hill Section and Green Ridge residential streets are quiet and safe. After midnight, avoid wandering West Scranton outside the Italian restaurant strip on West Lackawanna, and don't loiter near the Greyhound bus terminal. Uber/Lyft work reliably; COLTS public buses stop running by ~22:00. Winter (Dec-Mar) brings real ice and snow — wear actual boots, not city sneakers.
What scams should I watch out for in Scranton?
Nothing Scranton-specific. The US-wide patterns: gas-pump card skimmers (use Wawa or Sheetz which rotate hardware most aggressively), porch-package theft (Amazon Locker if shipping anything), aggressive driveway-sealcoating door-knockers in spring, and IRS phone-scam calls threatening deportation (the IRS does not call). Casino-shuttle 'free ride' offers from out-of-state operators usually come with a sales pitch attached. ATM-skimming at standalone machines is moderate; use PNC or Wells Fargo machines inside branches.
Can you drink tap water in Scranton?
Yes — Scranton tap water is supplied by Pennsylvania American Water from regional reservoirs (Lake Scranton and Watres Reservoir) and meets EPA Safe Drinking Water Act standards. The system publishes annual water-quality reports. No major boil-water advisories in the recent record. It can taste slightly chlorinated; carry a refillable bottle. Note the broader regional concern: this is anthracite-coal country and some legacy mine-drainage water sources contaminate streams and creeks, but municipal supply is sourced separately and treated to potability.
Is The Office tour actually worth doing?
Yes — and this is the genuinely useful Scranton-specific tip. Scranton has leaned hard into being the real-world setting of The Office (NBC sitcom 2005-2013), and you can do a self-guided 'Scranton Office Tour' covering: the Lackawanna County Courthouse (the show's opening titles), Cooper's Seafood House (the giant lighthouse restaurant where Pam works at the gift shop in one episode), Poor Richard's Pub, the Scranton Welcomes You sign on the iconic highway approach, and the Mall at Steamtown / Marketplace at Steamtown (the show's 'Steamtown Mall'). The Scranton Cultural Center runs an annual 'Office'-themed convention each October (The Office Convention) which sells out months ahead. Pair with Steamtown National Historic Site (free, Smithsonian-affiliated, working steam engines).