Best Places15717, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15717, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
15717 ranks 17,229th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 15717
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
15717's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15717 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Short commute22.2 minutes each way, better than 74% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 15717 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Household income$60,988 median, better than only 26% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15717
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15717 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,988, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 15717's effective rate of 1.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 15717
15717 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 15717.
Who works in 15717, and how
Work in 15717 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 15717
15717 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 15717 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15717, month by month
15717 sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 15717
The nearest airport, Arnold Palmer Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 15717
Schools across 15717 average a B+, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- United El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Saltsburg El SchA− · 62% proficient
- Grandview El SchA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Derry Area MsB · 46% proficient
- Apollo-ridge MsC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Apollo-ridge HsA · 70% proficient
- Derry Area ShsA · 68% proficient
- Homer-center JshsA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15717 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15717 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 15717 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15717
Is 15717 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15717 ranks 17,229th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, fast internet, and short commutes, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 15717 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,419. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $60,988 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 15717 safe?
Yes, 15717 is safer than 69% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $232 per resident a year.
Compare 15717 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15717. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15717 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
15717 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15717: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15717: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15717: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15717: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15717 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.