2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Hazleton had a population of 29,963. The median age was 35.6 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.
There were 10,872 households in Hazleton, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.6% were married-couple households, 22.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 11,611 || 38.8%
|-
| Black or African American || 1,236 || 4.1%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 205 || 0.7%
|-
| Asian || 226 || 0.8%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 18 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 11,407 || 38.1%
|-
| Two or more races || 5,260 || 17.6%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 18,898 || 63.1%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the city was 69.4% White (59.0% non-Hispanic/Latino white), 4.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, and 22.0% from other races, and 3.4% were multiracial. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.3% of the population. Almost all of the population growth in Hazleton (from 2000 to 2010) consisted of Hispanics and Latinos.
There were 23,340 people, 9,798 households, with 6,162 of these being family households. The population density was . There were 9,409 housing units, at an average density of .
There were 9,798 households, out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-family households. 21.9% were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Hazleton, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 1980
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|27,085
|24,259
|21,741
|14,955
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,894
|99.15%
|98.10%
|93.19%
|59.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |33.02%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|13
|47
|135
|497
|style='background: #ffffe6; |500
|0.05%
|0.19%
|0.58%
|1.96%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.67%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|0
|10
|34
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |21
|0.00%
|0.04%
|0.15%
|0.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|149
|164
|152
|184
|style='background: #ffffe6; |193
|0.55%
|0.66%
|0.65%
|0.73%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.64%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|N/A
|N/A
|3
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|N/A
|N/A
|0.01%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Some Other Race alone (NH)
|0
|1
|5
|46
|style='background: #ffffe6; |169
|0.00%
|0.00%
|0.02%
|0.18%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.56%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|N/A
|N/A
|127
|175
|style='background: #ffffe6; |280
|N/A
|N/A
|0.54%
|0.69%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.93%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|71
|249
|1,132
|9,454
|style='background: #ffffe6; |18,898
|0.26%
|1.01%
|4.85%
|37.31%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |63.07%
|-
|Total
|27,318
|24,730
|23,329
|25,340
|style='background: #ffffe6; |29,963
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
Economy
Hazleton's major mining and garment industries have disappeared over the past 50 years. Through the efforts of CANDO and a practical highway infrastructure, Hazle Township's Humboldt Industrial Park has become home to many industries. Coca-Cola, American Eagle Outfitters, Hershey, Office Max, Simmons Bedding Company, Michaels, Network Solutions, AutoZone, General Mills, Steelcase, WEIR Minerals, EB Brands and Amazon.com are just some of the large companies with distribution, manufacturing, or logistic operations in Hazleton.
In 2010, 6.7% of residents had an income below the poverty level, as compared to a statewide average of 12.5%.
Arts and culture
thumb|Historic postcard of Memorial Park in Hazleton
thumb|[[St. Gabriel's Catholic Parish Complex|St. Gabriel's Convent]]
thumb|[[St. Gabriel's Catholic Parish Complex|St. Gabriel's Church]]
Regional parks and outdoor entertainment
- Altmiller Playground
- Eagle Rock Resort (private)
- Edgewood In The Pines Golf Course
- Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails
- Hazle Township Community Park & Soccer Fields
- Hickory Run State Park
- Lehigh Gorge State Park
- Memorial Park
Organizations and historic locations
- Altamont Hotel
- Duplan Silk Building
- Eckley Miners' Village
- St. Gabriel's Catholic Parish Complex
- Hazleton Cemetery (the Vine Street Cemetery)
- Hazleton National Bank
- Israel Platt Pardee Mansion
- Markle Banking & Trust Company Building
- Lattimer Massacre, which began at State Route 924 near Harwood
- MPB Community Players
- Nuremberg Community Players
- Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts (PTPA)
- Saint Joseph Slovak Roman Catholic Church
- Traders Bank Building
Annual festivals
Hazleton's annual street festival, Funfest, is celebrated usually during the second weekend of September. The festival includes a craft show, a car show, entertainment from local bands, and many games of chance. The Funfest parade is held on Sunday (during the Funfest weekend). Valley Day is celebrated in Conyngham during the first weekend of August. Many church festivals are celebrated to preserve the Italian heritage of Hazleton. This would include the Festival of the Madonna del Monte at Most Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church (in Hazleton).
Sports
Hazleton was a long-time home to minor league baseball. On April 14, 1934, the Philadelphia Phillies entered into an affiliation agreement with the New York–Penn League Hazleton Mountaineers. This was the first ever minor league affiliation for the Phillies. The last minor-league club to play in Hazleton was the Hazleton Dodgers in 1950, a Brooklyn Dodgers farm-club which played in the Class D North Atlantic League.
Hazleton was also home to four franchises in the old Eastern Basketball League, precursor to the Continental Basketball Association: the Hazleton Mountaineers (1946–48, 1951–52), Hazleton Hawks (1953–62), Hazleton Bits (1971–72), and Hazleton Bullets (1972–77). Despite advancing to the EBL championship finals on four separate occasions, Hazleton teams were never able to capture a league championship.
Penn State Hazleton sponsors 8 varsity teams that compete at the intercollegiate level in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and Penn State University Athletic Conference. Penn State is home to baseball, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball. All teams play their games at the Athletic Center on campus, with the exceptions of baseball, which plays at Hazle Township Community Ballpark, and softball, which plays in Drums. The golf team plays at surrounding courses in the Northeast region.
Media
Newspapers
- Standard-Speaker
- Latino News
- El Mensajero (serves as one of the Hispanic/Latino newspapers in Hazleton)
Radio
- WGMA 1490 AM
Television
- WYLN-35
- WOLF-TV (channel 56)
Hazleton is served by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre media market, which is the 55th largest U.S. television market.
Sam-Son Productions (public-access television) is located in Hazleton.
Education
thumb|A map of [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Luzerne County with Hazleton Area School District highlighted in pink]]
thumb|[[Hazleton Area High School]]
thumb|Hazleton Area Public Library
The first school was built in the 1830s by the Hazleton Coal Company. It was a private elementary school at the corner of Church and Green Streets (the present-day site of Hazleton City Hall). Hazleton High School (the first high school) was built in 1875 at the corner of Pine and Hemlock Streets (the present-day site of the Pine Street Playground). Bishop Hafey High School was Hazleton's only Roman Catholic High School; it was owned by the Diocese of Scranton. It was opened in 1971 and closed in 2007 (by the order of former Bishop Joseph F. Martino).
Hazleton Area School District
The Hazleton Area School District (HASD) operates public schools serving the city limits. The Hazleton Area School District encompasses approximately . According to 2000 federal census data, it served a resident population of 70,042. By 2010, the district's population increased to 72,862 people. The educational attainment levels for the Hazleton Area School District population (25 years old and over) were 83.8% high school graduates and 15.2% college graduates. As of 2015, there were 10,871 pupils in Hazleton Area School District. There are three schools in Hazleton (operated by the HASD):
- Hazleton Elementary/Middle School
- Heights-Terrace Elementary/Middle School
- Arthur Street Elementary School
High school students in the district attend Hazleton Area High School in Hazle Township.
Private schools
- Holy Family Academy
- Immanuel Christian School
- MMI Preparatory School
Colleges and universities
- Lackawanna College
- Luzerne County Community College
- Penn State Hazleton
Other
- The Greater Hazleton Historical Society and Museum
- Hazleton Area Public Library
Infrastructure
alt=This is a photo of the Church Street Station|thumb|[[Hazleton Public Transit in Hazleton]]
thumb|[[Pennsylvania Route 309|PA 309 just outside the city]]
Public transportation
- Public transportation is provided by the Hazleton Public Transit, which operates nine routes throughout the city and neighboring communities.
Several jitney companies operate from Hazleton through Stroudsburg to Paterson and New York City via I-80.
Major highways
- There are three nearby Interstates:
- There are five major inbound roadways:
- (Broad Street)
- (Church Street)
- (Arthur Gardner Parkway)
- (CAN-DO Expressway, Broad Street (Conjuncture with PA-93), 15th Street, Terminus at PA-309)
- (Fisher's Avenue, Terminus at PA-309 and 22nd Street)
Rail
Norfolk Southern Railway and Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad are used for commercial rail traffic.
Air transit
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (in Pittston Township)
- Hazleton Municipal Airport (two miles northwest of Hazleton)
Notable people
- Lou Barletta, former mayor of Hazleton and former U.S. congressman
- Edward Bonin, former mayor of Hazleton and former U.S. congressman
- Frank Borzage, Academy Award-winning film director
- Hubie Brown, basketball coach and television analyst
- Russ Canzler, former professional baseball player
- Flick Colby, former choreographer
- John Dapcevich, former mayor of Juneau, Alaska
- Carl Duser, former professional baseball player
- Todd A. Eachus, former Pennsylvania State Representative
- Dan Flood, former U.S. congressman
- Thomas R. Kline, lawyer
- Sarah Knauss, longest documented living American, world's third longest living documented person (until age 119)
- Norm Larker (Beaver Meadows), player for the LA Dodgers
- Charles Lemmond, former state senator
- Sherrie Levine, photographer and appropriation artist
- H. Craig Lewis, former state senator
- Joe Maddon, Major League Baseball manager
- Don Malkames, cinematographer
- Tom Matchick, MLB player
- David Micahnik (born 1938), Olympic fencer
- Judith Nathan, wife of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
- Jack Palance (Hazle Township), Oscar-winning actor
- Eddie Rambeau, singer, songwriter, and actor.
- Andrew Soltis, chess grandmaster
- John Thomas Sweeney, murderer of Dominique Dunne
- Mike Tresh, MLB catcher
- Bob Tucker, NFL tight end with the New York Giants
- June Winters, actress and singer
Sister cities
Hazleton's sister cities are:
- Donegal, Limerick, Letterkenny - Ireland
- Corleone, Cilento, Bellagio, Positano, Capri, Campania - Italy
- Ayn al-Tamr - Iraq