Best Places18052, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18052, 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.
18052 ranks 9,292nd 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 18052
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.
18052's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18052 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 91% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 18052 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18052
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18052 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $77,391; 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 18052's effective rate of 1.62%, 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 18052
18052's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18052.
Who works in 18052, and how
Work in 18052 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 18052
18052 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 18052 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18052, month by month
18052 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 18052
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 55 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18052
Schools across 18052 average an A, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ironton SchA+ · 95% proficient
- Kratzer SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Zephyr El SchA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orefield MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Whitehall-coplay MsB− · 42% proficient
- Catasauqua MsC− · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkland HsA+ · 92% proficient
- Whitehall HsA · 75% proficient
- Catasauqua ShsC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18052 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18052 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 18052 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 18052 suits
Common questions about living in 18052
Is 18052 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18052 ranks 9,292nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and good schools, 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 18052 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,255. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $77,391 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 18052 safe?
18052 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $331 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 18052?
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 18052 good for families?
Schools beat 91% of zip codes, crime safety beats 37%, and childcare runs $865 a month.
Compare 18052 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18052. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18052 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.
18052 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18052: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18052: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18052: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18052: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18052 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.