Best Places18015, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18015, 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.
18015 ranks 12,061st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18015
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.
18015's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18015 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 18015 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18015
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18015 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,257; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 18015's effective rate of 1.22%, 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 18015
18015 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18015.
Who works in 18015, and how
Work in 18015 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 18015
18015 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 18015 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18015, month by month
18015 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 41, 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 | 41° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 40° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 18015
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18015
Schools across 18015 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Salisbury El SchA · 70% proficient
- Saucon Valley El SchA · 65% proficient
- Fountain Hill El SchB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southern Lehigh Intermediate SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Saucon Valley MsA · 60% proficient
- Salisbury MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Southern Lehigh ShsA · 79% proficient
- Lehigh Valley Charter High School For ThA · 73% proficient
- Salisbury ShsA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18015 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18015 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 18015 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 18015 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 18015
Is 18015 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18015 ranks 12,061st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, cell coverage, and biking, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18015 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $294,603. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $75,257 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 18015 safe?
18015 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $354 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 18015?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 22. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of zip codes.
Is 18015 good for families?
Schools beat 44% of zip codes, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $898 a month.
Compare 18015 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18015. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18015 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.
18015 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18015: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18015: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18015: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18015: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18015 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.