Best Places18225, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18225, 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.
18225 ranks 11,297th 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 18225
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.
18225's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18225 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute14.1 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 18225 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18225
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18225 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,472; 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 18225's effective rate of 1.06%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 18225
18225 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 18225.
Who works in 18225, and how
Work in 18225 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 18225
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18225.
What the weather is like in 18225, month by month
18225 sees roughly 71 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 18225
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18225
Schools across 18225 average a C, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Drums El/msB− · 42% proficient
- 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 18225 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18225 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 18225 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18225
Is 18225 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18225 ranks 11,297th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, short commutes, and walkability, 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 18225 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $298,600. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $75,472 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 18225 safe?
18225 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
Compare 18225 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18225. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18225 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.
18225 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18225: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18225: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18225: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18225: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18225 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.