Best Places16301, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16301, 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.
16301 ranks 21,429th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on heat safety, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 16301
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.
16301's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16301 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute20.4 minutes each way, better than 83% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 83% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 16301 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Household income$57,191 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16301
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16301 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,191, 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 16301's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 16301
16301 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 16301.
Who works in 16301, and how
Work in 16301 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 16301
16301 has more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 16301 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 16301, month by month
16301 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 16301
The nearest airport, Dubois Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16301
Schools across 16301 average a B+, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Valley Grove El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Hasson Heights SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Seventh Street SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oil City Area MsC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Oil City ShsA · 70% proficient
- Rocky Grove JshsA− · 60% proficient
- Cranberry Area JshsB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16301 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16301 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 16301 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16301
Is 16301 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16301 ranks 21,429th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, short commutes, and good schools, 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 16301 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $95,587. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $57,191 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 16301 safe?
16301 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $357 per resident a year.
Compare 16301 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16301. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16301 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.
16301 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16301: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16301: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16301: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16301: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16301 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.