Best Places19038, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19038, 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.
19038 ranks 1,575th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19038
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.
19038's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19038 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 19038 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,296 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19038
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19038 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $133,366, 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 19038's effective rate of 1.52%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19038
19038's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19038.
Who works in 19038, and how
Work in 19038 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 19038
19038 has more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 19038 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19038, month by month
19038 sees roughly 72 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 19038
Philadelphia International sits about 16 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 14.8 million passengers in 2025, with 179 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 19038
Schools across 19038 average an A−, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jarrettown El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Fitzwater El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Springfield Twp El Sch-erdenhmA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sandy Run MsA+ · 71% proficient
- Springfield Twp MsA · 65% proficient
- Abington MsB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Upper Dublin HsA+ · 91% proficient
- Springfield Twp HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Jenkintown Middle/high SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19038 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19038 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 19038 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19038 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 19038
Is 19038 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19038 ranks 1,575th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, health care access, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19038 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $435,472. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $133,366 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 19038 safe?
19038 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $324 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19038?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 25. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of zip codes.
Is 19038 good for families?
Schools beat 88% of zip codes, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $1,296 a month.
Compare 19038 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19038. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19038 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.
19038 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19038: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19038: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19038: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19038: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19038 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.