Best Places18011, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18011, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
18011 ranks 3,327th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18011
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.
18011's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18011 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 18011 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18011
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18011 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,155, 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 18011's effective rate of 1.40%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18011
18011 runs younger than the country, 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 18011.
Who works in 18011, and how
Work in 18011 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 18011
18011 has more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 18011 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18011, month by month
18011 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, 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 | 39° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 18011
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18011
Schools across 18011 average an A−, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shoemaker El SchA · 67% proficient
- Alburtis El SchA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eyer MsA · 59% proficient
- Brandywine Heights Intrmd/msA− · 58% proficient
- Upper Perkiomen MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Upper Perkiomen HsA · 72% proficient
- Emmaus HsB+ · 58% proficient
- Brandywine Heights HsB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18011 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18011 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 18011 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18011
Is 18011 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18011 ranks 3,327th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, population health, and big-city access, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18011 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $295,510. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $103,155 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 18011 safe?
Yes, 18011 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $136 per resident a year.
Compare 18011 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18011. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18011 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.
18011 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18011: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18011: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18011: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18011: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18011 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.