Best Places18109, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18109, 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.
18109 ranks 23,762nd 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 18109
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.
18109's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18109 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 18109 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18109
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18109 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,752, 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 18109's effective rate of 1.63%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18109
18109 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18109.
Who works in 18109, and how
Work in 18109 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 18109
18109 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 18109 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18109, month by month
18109 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 18109
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18109
Schools across 18109 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Asa Packer El SchA+ · 73% proficient
- Salisbury El SchA · 70% proficient
- Francis H Sheckler El SchB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Salisbury MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Nitschmann MsC+ · 36% proficient
- Catasauqua MsC− · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Salisbury ShsA− · 60% proficient
- Catasauqua ShsC · 33% proficient
- Liberty HsC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18109 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18109 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 18109 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18109
Is 18109 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18109 ranks 23,762nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and big-city access, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18109 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $193,109. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $61,752 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 18109 safe?
18109 is safer than 12% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $494 per resident a year.
Compare 18109 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18109. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18109 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.
18109 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18109: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18109: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18109: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18109: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18109 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.