Best Places17050, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17050, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
17050 ranks 1,171st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17050
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.
17050's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17050 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 17050 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17050
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17050 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $119,285, 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 17050's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17050
17050'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 17050.
Who works in 17050, and how
Work in 17050 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 17050
17050 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 17050 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17050, month by month
17050 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 17050
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 13 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 17050
Schools across 17050 average an A, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shaull El SchA+ · 79% proficient
- Green Ridge El SchA+ · 77% proficient
- Silver Spring El SchA+ · 76% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountain View MsA · 62% proficient
- Eagle View MsA · 60% proficient
- Allen MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Cedar Cliff HsA+ · 80% proficient
- Cumberland Valley HsA− · 60% proficient
- East Pennsboro Area ShsB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17050 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17050 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 17050 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 17050 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of zip codes and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 17050
Is 17050 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17050 ranks 1,171st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, few empty homes, and health care access, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17050 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $386,234. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $119,285 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 17050 safe?
Yes, 17050 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $140 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 17050?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of zip codes.
Is 17050 good for families?
Schools beat 91% of zip codes, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,031 a month.
Compare 17050 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17050. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17050 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.
17050 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17050: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17050: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17050: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17050: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17050 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.