Best Places17979, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 17979, 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.
17979 ranks 8,729th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 17979
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.
17979's strengths and weaknesses
Where 17979 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 17979 ranks low
- Short commute39.8 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 17979
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 17979 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,215, 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 17979's effective rate of 1.12%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 17979
17979 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 17979.
Who works in 17979, and how
Work in 17979 centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 17979
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 17979.
What the weather is like in 17979, month by month
17979 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 17979
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around 17979
Schools across 17979 average a B+, better than 73% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Blue Mountain El East SchA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Blue Mountain MsB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Blue Mountain HsB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 17979 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
17979 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 17979 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 17979
Is 17979 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 17979 ranks 8,729th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, cell coverage, and low disaster risk, and lowest on long commutes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 17979 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $217,100. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $86,215 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 17979 safe?
Yes, 17979 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $185 per resident a year.
Compare 17979 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 17979. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 17979 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.
17979 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 17979: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 17979: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 17979: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 17979: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
17979 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.