Best Places18846, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18846, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
18846 ranks 7,554th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 18846
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.
18846's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18846 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 18846 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18846
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18846 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,332, 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 18846's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 18846
18846 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 18846.
Who works in 18846, and how
Work in 18846 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 18846
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 18846.
What the weather is like in 18846, month by month
18846 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 18846
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18846
Schools across 18846 average an A−, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wyalusing Valley El SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top high schools
- Wyalusing Valley JshsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18846 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18846 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 18846 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18846
Is 18846 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18846 ranks 7,554th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, good schools, and clean air, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18846 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $248,925. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $84,332 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 18846 safe?
Yes, 18846 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $137 per resident a year.
Compare 18846 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18846. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18846 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.
18846 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18846: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18846: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18846: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18846: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18846 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.