Best Places18438, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18438, 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.
18438 ranks 14,056th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18438
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.
18438's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18438 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 18438 ranks low
- Short commute38.2 minutes each way, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18438
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18438 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,519, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 18438's effective rate of 0.99%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 18438
18438 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 18438.
Who works in 18438, and how
Work in 18438 centers on real estate and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 18438
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18438.
What the weather is like in 18438, month by month
18438 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 81° | 70° | 59° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 18438
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18438
Schools across 18438 average an A−, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wallenpaupack North Intrmd SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wallenpaupack Area MsB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Wallenpaupack Area HsA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18438 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18438 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 18438 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18438
Is 18438 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18438 ranks 14,056th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, health care access, and civic engagement, and lowest on long commutes 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 18438 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $397,457. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $59,519 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 18438 safe?
Yes, 18438 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare 18438 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18438. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18438 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.
18438 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18438: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18438: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18438: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18438: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18438 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.