Best Places18471, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18471, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
18471 ranks 475th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18471
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.
18471's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18471 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$149,848 median, better than 96% of zip codes
Where 18471 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18471
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18471 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $149,848, 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 18471's effective rate of 1.28%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18471
18471's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18471.
Who works in 18471, and how
Work in 18471 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 18471
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18471.
What the weather is like in 18471, month by month
18471 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 18471
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18471
Schools across 18471 average an A, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Waverly SchA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Abington Heights MsA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Abington Heights HsA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18471 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18471 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 18471 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18471
Is 18471 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18471 ranks 475th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state infrastructure and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18471 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $457,132. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $149,848 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 18471 safe?
Yes, 18471 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $177 per resident a year.
Compare 18471 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18471. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18471 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.
18471 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18471: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18471: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18471: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18471: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18471 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.