Best Places16720, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16720, 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.
16720 ranks 24,497th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 16720
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.
16720's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16720 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 16720 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute33.1 minutes each way, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16720
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16720 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,683, 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 16720's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 16720
16720 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 16720.
Who works in 16720, and how
Work in 16720 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 16720
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 16720.
What the weather is like in 16720, month by month
16720 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 69° | 56° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 16720
The nearest airport, Bradford Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16720
Schools across 16720 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Smethport Area El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Woodland El SchA · 65% proficient
- Coudersport Area El SchB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Smethport Area JshsB · 50% proficient
- Austin Area JshsB · 47% proficient
- Coudersport Area JshsC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16720 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16720 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 16720 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16720
Is 16720 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16720 ranks 24,497th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, heat safety, and a stable housing market, and lowest on a weak job market and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 16720 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,456. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $55,683 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 16720 safe?
16720 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $279 per resident a year.
Compare 16720 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16720. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16720 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.
16720 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16720: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16720: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16720: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16720: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16720 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.