Best Places18436, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18436, 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.
18436 ranks 13,948th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18436
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.
18436's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18436 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 18436 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Short commute33.0 minutes each way, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18436
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18436 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,016, 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 18436's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18436
18436 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18436.
Who works in 18436, and how
Work in 18436 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 18436
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18436.
What the weather is like in 18436, month by month
18436 sees roughly 73 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 18436
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18436
Schools across 18436 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wallenpaupack North Intrmd SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Jefferson El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Wallenpaupack South El SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wayne Highlands MsA− · 55% proficient
- Wallenpaupack Area MsB · 45% proficient
- Western Wayne MsB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- North Pocono HsA+ · 95% proficient
- Honesdale HsA · 75% proficient
- Wallenpaupack Area HsA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18436 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18436 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 18436 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18436
Is 18436 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18436 ranks 13,948th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, tree cover, and big-city access, and lowest on empty homes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18436 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,367. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $77,016 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 18436 safe?
18436 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $262 per resident a year.
Compare 18436 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18436. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18436 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.
18436 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18436: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18436: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18436: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18436: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18436 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.