Best Places18636, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18636, 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.
18636 ranks 15,004th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18636
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.
18636's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18636 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 18636 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18636
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18636 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,453, 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 18636's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18636
18636 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18636.
Who works in 18636, and how
Work in 18636 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 18636
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18636.
What the weather is like in 18636, month by month
18636 sees roughly 72 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 18636
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 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18636
Schools across 18636 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake-noxen El SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Ross El SchB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake-lehman JshsB+ · 55% proficient
- Tunkhannock HsB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18636 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18636 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 18636 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18636
Is 18636 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18636 ranks 15,004th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, fast internet, and clean air, and lowest on a weak job market and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18636 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,244. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $69,453 median income, cost of living beats 41% of zip codes.
Is 18636 safe?
Yes, 18636 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $200 per resident a year.
Compare 18636 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18636. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18636 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.
18636 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18636: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18636: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18636: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18636: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18636 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.