Best Places18612, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18612, 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.
18612 ranks 3,273rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18612
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.
18612's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18612 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 18612 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18612
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18612 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,068, 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 18612's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18612
18612 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 18612.
Who works in 18612, and how
Work in 18612 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 18612
18612 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 18612 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18612, month by month
18612 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 18612
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 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18612
Schools across 18612 average an A−, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dallas Intermediate SchA · 71% proficient
- Lehman-jackson El SchA · 67% proficient
- Lake-noxen El SchB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dallas MsB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Dallas ShsA · 70% proficient
- Wyoming Area Sec CtrA− · 65% proficient
- Lake-lehman JshsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18612 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18612 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 18612 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18612
Is 18612 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18612 ranks 3,273rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, health care access, and what local pay buys, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18612 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,853. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $106,068 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 18612 safe?
Yes, 18612 is safer than 83% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
Compare 18612 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18612. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18612 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.
18612 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18612: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18612: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18612: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18612: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18612 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.