Best Places17603, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17603, 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.
17603 ranks 6,255th 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 17603
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.
17603's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17603 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 17603 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,106 a month, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17603
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17603 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,881, 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 17603's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 17603
17603 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 17603.
Who works in 17603, and how
Work in 17603 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 17603
17603 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 17603 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17603, month by month
17603 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 17603
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 59 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17603
Schools across 17603 average a C+, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Letort El SchA+ · 95% proficient
- Central Manor El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Conestoga El SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Landis Run Intermediate SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Marticville MsA · 60% proficient
- Centerville MsA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Penn Manor HsA · 70% proficient
- Hempfield ShsB+ · 54% proficient
- Lampeter-strasburg ShsB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17603 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17603 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 17603 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 17603 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 17603
Is 17603 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17603 ranks 6,255th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and transit, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17603 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $275,321. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $83,881 median income, cost of living beats 62% of zip codes.
Is 17603 safe?
17603 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $271 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 17603?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of zip codes.
Is 17603 good for families?
Schools beat 53% of zip codes, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $1,106 a month.
Compare 17603 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17603. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17603 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.
17603 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17603: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17603: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17603: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17603: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17603 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.