Best Places18102, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18102, 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.
18102 ranks 27,534th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18102
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.
18102's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18102 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 18102 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18102
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18102 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $47,177; 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 18102's effective rate of 1.69%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18102
18102 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18102.
Who works in 18102, and how
Work in 18102 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 18102
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18102.
What the weather is like in 18102, month by month
18102 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 18102
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18102
Schools across 18102 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kratzer SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Zephyr El SchA+ · 73% proficient
- Union Terrace El SchB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orefield MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Harrison-morton MsD− · 16% proficient
- Trexler MsD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkland HsA+ · 92% proficient
- Whitehall HsA · 75% proficient
- Building 21 AllentownC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18102 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18102 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 18102 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 18102 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 18102
Is 18102 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18102 ranks 27,534th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and transit, and lowest on an overheated housing market and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18102 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $166,130. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $47,177 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 18102 safe?
18102 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $431 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 18102?
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 18102 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $865 a month.
Compare 18102 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18102. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18102 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.
18102 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18102: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18102: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18102: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18102: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18102 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.