Best Places17976, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17976, 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.
17976 ranks 22,709th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 17976
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.
17976's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17976 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$655 a month, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 17976 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17976
A household needs to earn about $16,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17976 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,539, 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 17976's effective rate of 1.49%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 17976
17976's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 17976.
Who works in 17976, and how
Work in 17976 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 17976
17976 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 17976 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 17976, month by month
17976 sees roughly 70 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 17976
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17976
Schools across 17976 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shenandoah Valley El SchB+ · 55% proficient
- North Schuylkill Elem SchB · 47% proficient
- Mahanoy Area El SchC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eastern Lebanon Co MsC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- North Schuylkill JshsC+ · 39% proficient
- Shenandoah Valley JshsC− · 30% proficient
- Mahanoy Area JshsD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17976 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17976 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 17976 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17976
Is 17976 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17976 ranks 22,709th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on empty homes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17976 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $57,139. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $61,539 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 17976 safe?
17976 is safer than 15% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $459 per resident a year.
Compare 17976 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17976. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17976 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.
17976 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17976: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17976: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17976: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17976: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17976 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.