Best Places17779, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17779, 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.
17779 ranks 8,457th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17779
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.
17779's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17779 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 83% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 17779 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17779
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17779 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,611, 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 17779's effective rate of 1.22%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 17779
17779 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 17779.
Who works in 17779, and how
Work in 17779 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. 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 17779
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17779.
What the weather is like in 17779, month by month
17779 sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 89° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 17779
The nearest airport, State College Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 145 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17779
Schools across 17779 average a B+, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Woodward El SchB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Mountain MsC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Mountain HsA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17779 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17779 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 17779 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17779
Is 17779 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17779 ranks 8,457th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17779 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,500. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $65,611 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 17779 safe?
Yes, 17779 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $144 per resident a year.
Compare 17779 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17779. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17779 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.
17779 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17779: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17779: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17779: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17779: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17779 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.