Best Places17021, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17021, 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.
17021 ranks 24,146th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 17021
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.
17021's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17021 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 78% of zip codes
Where 17021 ranks low
- Short commute41.9 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17021
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17021 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,150, 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 17021's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17021
17021 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 17021.
Who works in 17021, and how
Work in 17021 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 17021
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17021.
What the weather is like in 17021, month by month
17021 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 17021
The nearest airport, Altoona/Blair County, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17021
Schools across 17021 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shade Gap El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Blain El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Rockhill El SchA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Perry MsA− · 55% proficient
- Fannett-metal MsC− · 30% proficient
- Tuscarora MsC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- West Perry ShsA · 75% proficient
- Juniata ShsA− · 65% proficient
- Fannett-metal ShsA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17021 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17021 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 17021 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17021
Is 17021 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17021 ranks 24,146th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on long commutes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17021 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,528. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $55,150 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 17021 safe?
Yes, 17021 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $190 per resident a year.
Compare 17021 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17021. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17021 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.
17021 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17021: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17021: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17021: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17021: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17021 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.