Best Places16852, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16852, 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.
16852 ranks 13,258th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 16852
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.
16852's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16852 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 16852 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,135 a month, better than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16852
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16852 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,544, 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 16852's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 16852
16852 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 16852.
Who works in 16852, and how
Work in 16852 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 16852
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 16852.
What the weather is like in 16852, month by month
16852 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 16852
The nearest airport, State College Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16852
Schools across 16852 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Marion-walker El SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Penns Valley Area El And Intrmd SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bellefonte Area MsB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Bellefonte Area HsA+ · 80% proficient
- Penns Valley Area JshsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16852 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16852 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 16852 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16852
Is 16852 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16852 ranks 13,258th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, a strong job market, and low disaster risk, and lowest on education levels and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 16852 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $199,500. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $71,544 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 16852 safe?
16852 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $263 per resident a year.
Compare 16852 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16852. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16852 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.
16852 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16852: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16852: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16852: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16852: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16852 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.