Best Places18704, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18704, 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.
18704 ranks 12,013th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 18704
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.
18704's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18704 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 18704 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18704
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18704 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,270, 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 18704's effective rate of 1.40%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 18704
18704 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 18704.
Who works in 18704, and how
Work in 18704 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 18704
18704 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 18704 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18704, month by month
18704 sees roughly 66 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 18704
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18704
Schools across 18704 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dana El CtrA+ · 75% proficient
- Dallas Intermediate SchA · 71% proficient
- Solomon/plains El SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dallas MsB+ · 49% proficient
- Wyoming Valley West MsB− · 40% proficient
- Solomon/plains MsD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilkes-barre Area Sd Stem AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
- Dallas ShsA · 70% proficient
- Wyoming Valley West ShsA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18704 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18704 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 18704 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 18704 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 18704
Is 18704 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18704 ranks 12,013th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and fast internet, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18704 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,135. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $63,270 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 18704 safe?
18704 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $305 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 18704?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 21. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 18% of zip codes.
Is 18704 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $828 a month.
Compare 18704 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18704. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18704 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.
18704 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18704: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18704: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18704: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18704: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18704 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.