Best Places17240, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17240, 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.
17240 ranks 11,751st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on low crime, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17240
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.
17240's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17240 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 17240 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17240
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17240 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,474, 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 17240's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17240
17240'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 17240.
Who works in 17240, and how
Work in 17240 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 17240
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17240.
What the weather is like in 17240, month by month
17240 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 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 | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 17240
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17240
Schools across 17240 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shippensburg Intrm SchA+ · 81% proficient
- Oak Flat El SchA · 72% proficient
- Newville El SchB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Big Spring MsB · 43% proficient
- Chambersburg Area Ms - NorthB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Shippensburg Area ShsA+ · 85% proficient
- Big Spring HsB · 48% proficient
- Chambersburg Area ShsC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17240 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17240 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 17240 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17240
Is 17240 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17240 ranks 11,751st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on internet speeds and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17240 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $247,537. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $86,474 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 17240 safe?
Yes, 17240 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
Compare 17240 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17240. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17240 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.
17240 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17240: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17240: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17240: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17240: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17240 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.