Closeup: Scranton PA

So we've all seen the town on the show, but is that what Scranton is really like?

Scranton is a fairly small town with around 75,000 people located in northeast Pennsylvania. It was first established because of the booming iron and steel industries around the area. It is also known for it’s abundance of anthracite coal, which the show even makes reference to.

Scranton is generally depicted pretty accurately on the show. Some places are made up, but a lot of the names of places on the show are pulled right out of the Scranton yellow pages, including the Steamtown Mall, Poor Richard’s Pub, and Lake Wallenpaupack. The show does not usually use footage from the actual city of Scranton, but pays homage to it through the names.



The opening theme does use images from the actual city of Scranton though. These places of interest were shot by actor John Krasinski who plays Jim on the show with a handycam. The show also uses subtle shout outs to the town with a local radio station’s bumper sticker (Froggy 101) and bobble heads of the local sports teams.

How does the town feel about the show?

For the most part the people of Scranton celebrate the use of their town for the setting of the show. The mayor was hesitant at first when he heard about the show being located there, but they have proven to keep Scranton in the best light and have definitely increased its popularity.

Scranton has hosted “The Office” conventions for fans of the show which include meeting the cast and panel discussions on behind the scenes information. The town also has banners honoring the fictional paper company, Dunder Mifflin, used in the show.



Scranton may not be the coolest town in the continental United States but to fans of the Office it is a Mecca. The quaint town is continuing to grow and prosper, especially with plans for new renovations on the 150 year old city.

I think Michael Scott would agree that there’s no place like Scranton, the Electric City!