Signature · 5.0% low-access (10th pct)
Carbon County, PA
Carbon County lands in the lower national band on low-access (5.0%); supermarket distance is less binding than in the upper band, though local tracts can still diverge.
- 5.0%
- low-access pop.
- 1
- food-desert tracts
- 15.6%
- on SNAP
- 65K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Carbon County, PA
LA-ADEQUATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-SINGLE · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-OK · DENSITY-THIN
- LA-ADEQUATE 5.0% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -17.1 pts vs US
- LILA-SINGLE 1 food-desert tract
- SNAP-HEAVY 15.6% SNAP
- VEH-OK 6.4% no vehicle
- DENSITY-THIN 8% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Armstrong County (+ 0.2 pts)
Lower-band low-access
Carbon County lands in the lower national band (5.0%, #2,810 of 3,079); local tracts can still diverge from the county mean.
- #2,810
- national by low-access %
- #60
- in PA
- 3
- low-access tracts
- 1K
- food-desert residents
Lower-band county means still leave tract outliers on the table below.
Signature read: 5.0% low-access (10th pct) (-17.1 pts vs U.S. low-access).
How Carbon County compares nationally
Food access in Carbon County compares favorably nationally: its 5.0% low-access share is lower than the vast majority of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, higher than only 10% of them (rank #2,815).
Carbon County's lower-band USDA tier split
12 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 1 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Carbon County has 4 urban and 8 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Carbon County vs nearby low low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Pennsylvania, not a full county-board reprint
- Chester
Chester 45.1%
45.1 % low-access
- Juniata 5.6
Juniata 5.6%
5.6 % low-access
- Venango 5.3
Venango 5.3%
5.3 % low-access
- Armstrong 5.2
Armstrong 5.2%
5.2 % low-access
- Carbon 5
Carbon 5%
5 % low-access
- Potter 4.8
Potter 4.8%
4.8 % low-access
- Wyoming 0.9
Wyoming 0.9%
0.9 % low-access
FARA 2019 · lower low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 12 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 65,249 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 3 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 1 |
| Low-Access Population | 3,247 |
| Low-Access Share | 5.0%well below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 1,191 |
ACS 2024 · elevated SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 65,382 |
| Median Household Income | $67,554 |
| Poverty Rate | 12.3%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 4,252 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 15.6%above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 6.4%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.3% |
Thick SNAP store book in Carbon County
Carbon County has 43 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 6 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 18 locations (42% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 18
- 7-eleven 40281, jim thorpe
- convenient food mart 3018, palmerton
- fastfill#1 1, lehighton
- friendly food mart, lansford
- lehighton patel kwik stop llc, lehighton
- miners market, summit hill
- olde tyme corner store, lehighton
- palmerton patel kwik stop llc, palmerton
- pereira 10 gas llc, nesquehoning
- pereira 5 gas llc, summit hill
- pereira 8 cstore llc, lansford
- pls deli, summit hill
- rellys deli and convenience store 1, bowmanstown
- sunny's quick mart, albrightsville
- tresckow super food, tresckow
- turkey hill minit market 950101, jim thorpe
- turkey hill minit markets 950087, nesquehoning
- turkey hill minit markets 950102, lansford
Combination Grocery/Other · 17
- big lots 3067, lehighton
- cvs pharmacy 1325, nesquehoning
- dollar general 18504, lehighton
- dollar general 10434, nesquehoning
- dollar general 12481, weatherly
- dollar general 13251, albrightsville
- dollar general 15101, jim thorpe
- dollar general 20551, lehighton
- dollar general 22328, albrightsville
- dollar general 24316, beaver meadows
- dollar general 25138, lehighton
- dollar general 31803, lansford
- dollar general 3933, lehighton
- dollar tree 7152, lehighton
- family dollar 8229, palmerton
- family dollar store 943, lansford
- jim thorpe market, jim thorpe
Supermarket · 4
- aldi 88, lehighton
- boyers food mkts inc 3588, lansford
- giant food store 6320, lehighton
- redners warehouse market 19, nesquehoning
Super Store · 2
- country harvest family markets, palmerton
- walmart 2169, lehighton
Large Grocery Store · 1
- mallard market, lehighton
Medium Grocery Store · 1
- hazle park meats & gro, albrightsville
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Pennsylvania
One of 66 counties in Pennsylvania, 6 are shown here.
Compare Carbon County vs Adams County → · All Pennsylvania counties →
Counties near Carbon County's lower low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Carbon County, both outside Pennsylvania so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside PA (5.0% here).
- Vinton County, OH · 5.0% low-access
- Vinton County, OH · 5.0% low-access
- Ashland County, OH · 5.0% low-access
- Ashland County, OH · 5.0% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside PA (15.6% here).
- Columbia County, OR · 15.6% SNAP
- Columbia County, OR · 15.6% SNAP
- Garfield County, OK · 15.6% SNAP
- Garfield County, OK · 15.6% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Carbon County inside a lower low-access state context
Carbon County sits inside Pennsylvania (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Carbon County, PA are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 42025. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.