Best Places18059, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18059, 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.
18059 ranks 1,937th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18059
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.
18059's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18059 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 18059 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Short commute37.1 minutes each way, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% 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 18059
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18059 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $116,914, 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 18059's effective rate of 1.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18059
18059 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18059.
Who works in 18059, and how
Work in 18059 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 18059
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18059.
What the weather is like in 18059, month by month
18059 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 18059
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18059
Schools across 18059 average an A, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ironton SchA+ · 95% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orefield MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkland HsA+ · 92% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18059 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18059 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 18059 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18059
Is 18059 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18059 ranks 1,937th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, good schools, and civic engagement, and lowest on the weather and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18059 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $409,841. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $116,914 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 18059 safe?
Yes, 18059 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $146 per resident a year.
Compare 18059 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18059. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18059 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.
18059 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18059: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18059: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18059: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18059: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18059 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.