Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies

2024 Jewish Population Study of Northeastern Pennsylvania

Matthew Boxer, Matthew A. Brookner, Alicia Chandler, Vivian Jacobs, Adam Martin, Daniella Levine, Raquel Magidin de Kramer, Ilana Friedman, Janet Krasner Aronson, and Leonard Saxe

April 2024

Northeastern PA report cover

The 2024 Jewish Population Study of Northeastern Pennsylvania is the first ever in-depth assessment of the size and characteristics of the Jewish community of Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne Counties in Pennsylvania. This study offers a comprehensive depiction of the 5,500 Jews in Northeastern Pennsylvania, delving into their families; their Jewish attitudes, behaviors, and affiliations; their health and financial well-being; and measures of their engagement in Jewish life.

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Key Findings:

  •  The Northeastern Pennsylvania Jewish community numbers approximately 6,900 individuals, of whom 5,500 are Jewish.
  • Eleven percent of Jewish households in Northeastern Pennsylvania include children under age 18.
  • The individual intermarriage rate of Jewish adults (i.e., the proportion of married Jewish adults with a non-Jewish spouse) in Northeastern Pennsylvania is 33%, below the national average of 42%.
  • Forty percent of Jewish adults in Northeastern Pennsylvania do not identify with any particular denomination of Judaism. Fifteen percent identify as Orthodox, 16% as Conservative, 28% as Reform, and 1% identify with another denomination.
  • Forty-four percent of Jewish households in Northeastern Pennsylvania belong to a synagogue or other Jewish congregation, higher than the national average of 35%.
  • Thirty-eight percent of Jewish adults in Northeastern Pennsylvania altered their behavior in the past year out of the fear of antisemitism, including 30% who avoided wearing or displaying Jewish objects that would identify them as a Jew, 20% who avoided posting Jewish content online that would identify them as a Jew, and 19% who avoided going to certain places or events.
  • Thirty-six percent of Jewish adults in Northeastern Pennsylvania personally experienced one or more of the following types of antisemitic incidents in the past year: a physical attack (1%), a remark made in person (25%), or a remark or post online or through social media (21%).
  • Thirty-five percent of Jewish households in Northeastern Pennsylvania say they cannot makes ends meet (18%) or are just managing to make ends meet (17%).