Best Places17579, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17579, 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.
17579 ranks 5,098th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17579
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.
17579's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17579 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 17579 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter 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 17579
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17579 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $92,697; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 17579's effective rate of 1.38%, 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 17579
17579 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 17579.
Who works in 17579, and how
Work in 17579 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 17579
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17579.
What the weather is like in 17579, month by month
17579 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 17579
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17579
Schools across 17579 average an A−, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Providence El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Paradise El SchB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Martin Meylin MsA− · 56% proficient
- Smith MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Pequea Valley Intrmd SchB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Solanco HsA+ · 85% proficient
- Lampeter-strasburg ShsB · 50% proficient
- Pequea Valley HsD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17579 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17579 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 17579 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17579
Is 17579 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17579 ranks 5,098th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, low crime, and civic engagement, and lowest on the weather and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17579 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $340,914. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $92,697 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 17579 safe?
Yes, 17579 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $137 per resident a year.
Compare 17579 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17579. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17579 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.
17579 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17579: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17579: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17579: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17579: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17579 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.