Best Places17840, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17840, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
17840 ranks 14,252nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 17840
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.
17840's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17840 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 17840 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Short commute32.9 minutes each way, better than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17840
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17840 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,500, 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 17840's effective rate of 1.14%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 17840
17840 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 17840.
Who works in 17840, and how
Work in 17840 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 17840
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17840.
What the weather is like in 17840, month by month
17840 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 17840
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17840
Schools across 17840 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shamokin Area El SchA · 65% proficient
- Mount Carmel Area El SchB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mount Carmel Area JhD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Mount Carmel Area HsA− · 67% proficient
- Shamokin Area HsF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17840 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17840 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 17840 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17840
Is 17840 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17840 ranks 14,252nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low disaster risk, and what local pay buys, and lowest on a weak job market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17840 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $275,300. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $91,500 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 17840 safe?
17840 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
Compare 17840 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17840. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17840 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.
17840 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17840: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17840: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17840: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17840: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17840 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.