Best Places17004, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17004, 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.
17004 ranks 16,669th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17004
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.
17004's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17004 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 17004 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17004
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17004 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,031, 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 17004's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 17004
17004's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 17004.
Who works in 17004, and how
Work in 17004 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 17004
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17004.
What the weather is like in 17004, month by month
17004 sees roughly 77 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 17004
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 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17004
Schools across 17004 average a B, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Valley El SchB+ · 53% proficient
- Standing Stone El SchB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Huntingdon Area MsB− · 40% proficient
- Mifflin Co MsC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Huntingdon Area ShsA− · 65% proficient
- Mifflin Co HsA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17004 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17004 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 17004 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17004
Is 17004 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17004 ranks 16,669th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, low disaster risk, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on education levels and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17004 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,573. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $68,031 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 17004 safe?
Yes, 17004 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 17004 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17004. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17004 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.
17004 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17004: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17004: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17004: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17004: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17004 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.