Best Places17033, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17033, 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.
17033 ranks 3,635th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17033
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.
17033's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17033 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Short commute18.3 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 17033 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17033
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17033 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,516, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 17033's effective rate of 1.14%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17033
17033's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 17033.
Who works in 17033, and how
Work in 17033 centers on health care & social 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 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 17033
17033 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 17033 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17033, month by month
17033 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 17033
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17033
Schools across 17033 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lingle Avenue El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Hershey Intrmd El SchA+ · 77% proficient
- South Hanover El SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hershey MsA+ · 82% proficient
- Palmyra Area MsA · 63% proficient
- Lower Dauphin MsB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Lower Dauphin HsA · 71% proficient
- Hershey HsA · 68% proficient
- Palmyra Area ShsA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17033 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17033 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 17033 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17033
Is 17033 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17033 ranks 3,635th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and short commutes, and lowest on the weather and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17033 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $370,383. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $83,516 median income, cost of living beats 56% of zip codes.
Is 17033 safe?
Yes, 17033 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $173 per resident a year.
Compare 17033 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17033. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17033 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.
17033 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17033: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17033: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17033: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17033: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17033 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.