Best Places17870, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17870, 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.
17870 ranks 9,008th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on short commutes, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 17870
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.
17870's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17870 ranks high
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 17870 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17870
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17870 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,176, 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 17870's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17870
17870 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 17870.
Who works in 17870, and how
Work in 17870 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 17870
17870 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 17870 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17870, month by month
17870 sees roughly 66 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 17870
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17870
Schools across 17870 average a B, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oaklyn SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Selinsgrove Intrmd SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Kelly El SchA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Donald H Eichhorn MsA · 66% proficient
- Selinsgrove Area MsA · 65% proficient
- Line Mountain MsB+ · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Lewisburg HsA+ · 85% proficient
- Line Mountain HsA · 73% proficient
- Shikellamy HsA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17870 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17870 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 17870 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17870
Is 17870 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17870 ranks 9,008th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, walkability, and low disaster risk, and lowest on taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17870 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $248,243. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $83,176 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 17870 safe?
Yes, 17870 is safer than 67% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
Compare 17870 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17870. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17870 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.
17870 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17870: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17870: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17870: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17870: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17870 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.