Best Places15963, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15963, 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.
15963 ranks 11,418th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 15963
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.
15963's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15963 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$568 a month, better than 88% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 15963 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Household income$63,256 median, better than only 30% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15963
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15963 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,256, 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 15963's effective rate of 1.06%, 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 15963
15963 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 15963.
Who works in 15963, and how
Work in 15963 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 15963
15963 has more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 15963 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15963, month by month
15963 sees roughly 88 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 15963
The nearest airport, John Murtha Johnstown/Cambria County, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around 15963
Schools across 15963 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Windber El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Richland El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Conemaugh Twp Area El SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windber Area MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Windber Area HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Richland HsA · 70% proficient
- Forest Hills JshsB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15963 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15963 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 15963 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15963
Is 15963 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15963 ranks 11,418th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, good schools, and heat safety, and lowest on state infrastructure and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 15963 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,466. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $63,256 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 15963 safe?
15963 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $316 per resident a year.
Compare 15963 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15963. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15963 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.
15963 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15963: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15963: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15963: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15963: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15963 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.