Best Places15956, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15956, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
15956 ranks 21,347th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 15956
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.
15956's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15956 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$613 a month, better than 84% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 15956 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Household income$57,271 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15956
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15956 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,271, 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 15956's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 15956
15956 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 15956.
Who works in 15956, and how
Work in 15956 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 15956
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 15956.
What the weather is like in 15956, month by month
15956 sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 20° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 81° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 15956
The nearest airport, John Murtha Johnstown/Cambria County, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around 15956
Schools across 15956 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Hills El SchA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Forest Hills JshsB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15956 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15956 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 15956 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15956
Is 15956 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15956 ranks 21,347th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low disaster risk, and heat safety, and lowest on noise and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 15956 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $120,672. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $57,271 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 15956 safe?
15956 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
Compare 15956 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15956. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15956 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.
15956 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15956: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15956: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15956: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15956: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15956 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.