Best Places18073, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18073, 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.
18073 ranks 2,166th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18073
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.
18073's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18073 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$118,029 median, better than 89% of zip codes
Where 18073 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,290 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 28% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18073
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18073 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $118,029, 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 18073's effective rate of 1.45%, 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 18073
18073'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 18073.
Who works in 18073, and how
Work in 18073 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 18073
18073 has more parkland per resident than 75% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 18073 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18073, month by month
18073 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 18073
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18073
Schools across 18073 average an A, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pfaff El SchA+ · 90% proficient
Top middle schools
- Upper Perkiomen MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Quakertown Community HsA+ · 85% proficient
- Upper Perkiomen HsA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18073 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18073 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 18073 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18073
Is 18073 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18073 ranks 2,166th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18073 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $357,910. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $118,029 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 18073 safe?
Yes, 18073 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $155 per resident a year.
Compare 18073 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18073. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18073 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.
18073 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18073: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18073: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18073: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18073: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18073 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.