Best Places17051, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17051, 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.
17051 ranks 18,210th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17051
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.
17051's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17051 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 17051 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Short commute30.7 minutes each way, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17051
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17051 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,790, 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 17051's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 17051
17051 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 17051.
Who works in 17051, and how
Work in 17051 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 17051
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17051.
What the weather is like in 17051, month by month
17051 sees roughly 76 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 17051
The nearest airport, State College Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17051
Schools across 17051 average a B−, better than 54% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shirley Twp El SchB− · 41% proficient
- Strodes Mills El SchC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mifflin Co MsC · 34% proficient
- Mount Union Area JhsD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Mifflin Co HsA− · 59% proficient
- Mount Union Area ShsC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17051 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17051 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 17051 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17051
Is 17051 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17051 ranks 18,210th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low disaster risk, and low crime, and lowest on state infrastructure and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17051 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,121. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $65,790 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 17051 safe?
Yes, 17051 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $184 per resident a year.
Compare 17051 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17051. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17051 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.
17051 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17051: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17051: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17051: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17051: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17051 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.