Best Places18221, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18221, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
18221 ranks 14,174th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. An overheated housing market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on big-city access.
The best neighborhoods in 18221
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.
18221's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18221 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Short commute20.0 minutes each way, better than 85% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 71% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 69% of zip codes
Where 18221 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18221
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18221 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,031, 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 18221's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 18221
18221's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 18221.
Who works in 18221, and how
Work in 18221 centers on manufacturing and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 18221
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18221.
What the weather is like in 18221, month by month
18221 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 18221
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18221
Schools across 18221 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Freeland El/msC− · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Hazleton Area HsC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18221 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18221 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 18221 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18221
Is 18221 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18221 ranks 14,174th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, short commutes, and clean air, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18221 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $208,950. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $79,031 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 18221 safe?
Yes, 18221 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 18221 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18221. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18221 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.
18221 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18221: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18221: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18221: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18221: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18221 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.