Best Places18936, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 18936, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
18936 ranks 2,455th 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 18936
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.
18936's strengths and weaknesses
Where 18936 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 18936 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,296 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 18936
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 18936 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $111,989, 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 18936'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 18936
18936 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 18936.
Who works in 18936, and how
Work in 18936 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 18936
18936 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 18936 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 18936, month by month
18936 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 18936
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 25 miles away.
The best schools in and around 18936
Schools across 18936 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Montgomery El SchA+ · 72% proficient
- Bridle Path El SchA · 72% proficient
- Gwyn-nor El SchA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pennbrook MsA · 59% proficient
- Penndale MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- North Penn ShsA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 18936 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
18936 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 18936 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 18936
Is 18936 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 18936 ranks 2,455th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, civic engagement, and big-city access, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 18936 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $374,488. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $111,989 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 18936 safe?
Yes, 18936 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
Compare 18936 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 18936. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 18936 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.
18936 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 18936: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 18936: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 18936: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 18936: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
18936 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.