Best Places16659, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16659, 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.
16659 ranks 8,083rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 16659
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.
16659's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16659 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 16659 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16659
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16659 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,072, 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 16659's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 16659
16659 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 16659.
Who works in 16659, and how
Work in 16659 centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 16659
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 16659.
What the weather is like in 16659, month by month
16659 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 86° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 16659
The nearest airport, Altoona/Blair County, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16659
Schools across 16659 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northern Bedford Co El SchA+ · 95% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northern Bedford County MsA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Northern Bedford County HsA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16659 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16659 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 16659 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16659
Is 16659 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16659 ranks 8,083rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, quiet, and heat safety, and lowest on cell coverage and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 16659 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,280. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $75,072 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 16659 safe?
Yes, 16659 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $158 per resident a year.
Compare 16659 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16659. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16659 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.
16659 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16659: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16659: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16659: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16659: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16659 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.