Best Places16344, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16344, 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.
16344 ranks 19,085th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on good schools, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 16344
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.
16344's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16344 ranks high
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 16344 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Household income$61,331 median, better than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16344
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16344 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,331, 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 16344's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 16344
16344's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 16344.
Who works in 16344, and how
Work in 16344 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 16344
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 16344.
What the weather is like in 16344, month by month
16344 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 16344
The nearest airport, Dubois Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16344
Schools across 16344 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hasson Heights SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oil City Area MsC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Oil City ShsA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16344 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16344 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 16344 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16344
Is 16344 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16344 ranks 19,085th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, heat safety, and short commutes, and lowest on disaster risk and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 16344 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $99,700. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $61,331 median income, cost of living beats 30% of zip codes.
Is 16344 safe?
16344 is safer than 29% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $341 per resident a year.
Compare 16344 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16344. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16344 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.
16344 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16344: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16344: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16344: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16344: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16344 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.