Best Places18603, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18603, 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.
18603 ranks 11,466th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18603
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.
18603's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18603 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 18603 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18603
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18603 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,686, 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 18603's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 18603
18603 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 18603.
Who works in 18603, and how
Work in 18603 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 18603
18603 has more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 18603 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18603, month by month
18603 sees roughly 67 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 18603
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18603
Schools across 18603 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central Columbia El SchA+ · 73% proficient
- Nescopeck El SchA · 67% proficient
- Salem El SchA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Columbia MsA · 66% proficient
- Berwick Area MsC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Columbia ShsA+ · 83% proficient
- Berwick Area HsA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18603 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18603 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 18603 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18603
Is 18603 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18603 ranks 11,466th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on state infrastructure and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18603 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $176,626. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $64,686 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 18603 safe?
Yes, 18603 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $214 per resident a year.
Compare 18603 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18603. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18603 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.
18603 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18603: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18603: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18603: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18603: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18603 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.