Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania

Population

Down 1.3% since 2020.

1,623

people, the 479th-largest of Pennsylvania's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Pennsylvania's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

97.6%

of 874 jobs located in Shamokin Dam are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 59% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$926

a month. Pennsylvania's median is $1,209.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $176.

A $176 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Snyder County.

• $885 Tract 702
• $1,061 Tract 707.01

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$679–$1,018

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $926 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 15 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 80% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 91% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–1.2% to the 755 homes here.

1–9

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 23% less than Pennsylvania's.

$197,200

median home value in Shamokin Dam.

• $197,200 Shamokin Dam
• $254,500 Pennsylvania
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year