Best Places16854, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 16854, 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.
16854 ranks 10,527th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 16854
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.
16854's strengths and weaknesses
Where 16854 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 16854 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,135 a month, better than only 22% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 16854
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 16854 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,613, 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 16854's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 16854
16854'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 16854.
Who works in 16854, and how
Work in 16854 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 16854
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 16854.
What the weather is like in 16854, month by month
16854 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 31° | 25° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 16854
The nearest airport, State College Regional, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around 16854
Schools across 16854 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Penns Valley Area El And Intrmd SchA · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Penns Valley Area JshsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 16854 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
16854 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 16854 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 16854
Is 16854 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 16854 ranks 10,527th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, civic engagement, and heat safety, and lowest on state infrastructure and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 16854 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $247,846. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $72,613 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 16854 safe?
16854 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
Compare 16854 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 16854. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 16854 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.
16854 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 16854: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 16854: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 16854: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 16854: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
16854 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.