Best Places18017, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18017, 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.
18017 ranks 5,577th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18017
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.
18017's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18017 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 89% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 18017 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18017
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18017 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $93,539; 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 18017's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18017
18017 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18017.
Who works in 18017, and how
Work in 18017 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 18017
18017 has more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 18017 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18017, month by month
18017 sees roughly 58 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 18017
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18017
Schools across 18017 average a B−, better than 56% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hanover El SchA+ · 82% proficient
- Asa Packer El SchA+ · 73% proficient
- Colonel John Siegfried El SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Hills MsB+ · 48% proficient
- Northampton Area MsB · 43% proficient
- Nitschmann MsC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Northampton Area HsB+ · 58% proficient
- Freedom HsC · 35% proficient
- Liberty HsC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18017 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18017 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 18017 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 18017 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of zip codes and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 18017
Is 18017 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18017 ranks 5,577th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, few empty homes, and big-city access, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18017 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $336,408. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $93,539 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 18017 safe?
Yes, 18017 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $235 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 18017?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 22. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of zip codes.
Is 18017 good for families?
Schools beat 56% of zip codes, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $905 a month.
Compare 18017 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18017. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18017 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.
18017 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18017: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18017: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18017: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18017: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18017 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.