Best Places17931, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17931, 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.
17931 ranks 20,806th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 17931
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.
17931's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17931 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 17931 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17931
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17931 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,264, 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 17931's effective rate of 1.78%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17931
17931 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 17931.
Who works in 17931, and how
Work in 17931 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 17931
17931 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 17931 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17931, month by month
17931 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 17931
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17931
Schools across 17931 average a B−, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Saint Clair Area El/msA− · 60% proficient
- Shenandoah Valley El SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Minersville Area El CtrB · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- North Schuylkill JshsC+ · 39% proficient
- Minersville Area JshsC− · 30% proficient
- Shenandoah Valley JshsC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17931 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17931 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 17931 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17931
Is 17931 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17931 ranks 20,806th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, a strong job market, and low disaster risk, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17931 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $116,194. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $61,264 median income, cost of living beats 23% of zip codes.
Is 17931 safe?
17931 is safer than 29% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
Compare 17931 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17931. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17931 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.
17931 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17931: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17931: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17931: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17931: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17931 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.