Best Places17520, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17520, 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.
17520 ranks 2,717th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17520
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.
17520's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17520 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 17520 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,106 a month, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17520
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17520 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,809, 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 17520's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 17520
17520 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 17520.
Who works in 17520, and how
Work in 17520 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 17520
17520 has more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 17520 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17520, month by month
17520 sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 17520
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17520
Schools across 17520 average an A−, better than 81% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bucher SchA · 68% proficient
- East Petersburg El SchA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Landis Run Intermediate SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Centerville MsA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Hempfield ShsB+ · 54% proficient
- Manheim Twp HsB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17520 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17520 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 17520 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17520
Is 17520 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17520 ranks 2,717th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, civic engagement, and low crime, 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 17520 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $275,773. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $93,809 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 17520 safe?
Yes, 17520 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $125 per resident a year.
Compare 17520 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17520. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17520 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.
17520 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17520: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17520: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17520: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17520: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17520 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.