Best Places16421, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16421, 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.
16421 ranks 6,240th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 16421
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.
16421's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16421 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 16421 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16421
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16421 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,655, 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 16421's effective rate of 1.39%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 16421
16421 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 16421.
Who works in 16421, and how
Work in 16421 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 16421
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 16421.
What the weather is like in 16421, month by month
16421 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 30° | 23° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 16421
The nearest airport, Erie International/Tom Ridge Field, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16421
Schools across 16421 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Klein El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Clark El SchA+ · 73% proficient
- North East Intrmd ElA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wattsburg Area MsA− · 55% proficient
- Harbor Creek Junior HsA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Harbor Creek Senior HsA+ · 88% proficient
- North East HsA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16421 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16421 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 16421 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16421
Is 16421 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16421 ranks 6,240th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and few empty homes, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 16421 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $242,745. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $76,655 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 16421 safe?
Yes, 16421 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $155 per resident a year.
Compare 16421 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16421. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16421 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.
16421 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16421: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16421: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16421: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16421: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16421 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.