Best Places17888, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17888, 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.
17888 ranks 27,462nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Walkability pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in 17888
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.
17888's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17888 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 83% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 17888 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Household income$44,219 median, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17888
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17888 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,219, 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 17888's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17888
17888 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 17888.
Who works in 17888, and how
Work in 17888 centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 17888
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17888.
What the weather is like in 17888, month by month
17888 sees roughly 64 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 17888
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17888
Schools across 17888 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Schuylkill Elem SchB · 47% 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
- North Schuylkill JshsC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17888 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17888 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 17888 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17888
Is 17888 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17888 ranks 27,462nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, tree cover, and big-city access, and lowest on walkability and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17888 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $117,500. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $44,219 median income, cost of living beats 9% of zip codes.
Is 17888 safe?
17888 is safer than 13% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $451 per resident a year.
Compare 17888 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17888. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17888 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.
17888 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17888: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17888: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17888: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17888: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17888 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.