Best Places18049, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18049, 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.
18049 ranks 4,554th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18049
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.
18049's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18049 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 18049 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% 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 18049
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18049 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,746, 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 18049's effective rate of 1.57%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18049
18049 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18049.
Who works in 18049, and how
Work in 18049 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 18049
18049 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 18049 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18049, month by month
18049 sees roughly 64 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 18049
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18049
Schools across 18049 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Salisbury El SchA · 70% proficient
- Shoemaker El SchA · 67% proficient
- Lincoln El SchA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southern Lehigh Intermediate SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Eyer MsA · 59% proficient
- Salisbury MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Southern Lehigh ShsA · 79% proficient
- Salisbury ShsA− · 60% proficient
- Emmaus HsB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18049 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18049 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 18049 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18049
Is 18049 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18049 ranks 4,554th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18049 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $312,870. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $93,746 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 18049 safe?
Yes, 18049 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $187 per resident a year.
Compare 18049 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18049. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18049 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.
18049 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18049: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18049: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18049: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18049: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18049 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.