Best Places19438, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19438, 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.
19438 ranks 804th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19438
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.
19438's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19438 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$145,912 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 19438 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,296 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 20% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19438
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19438 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $145,912, 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 19438's effective rate of 1.37%, 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 19438
19438 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19438.
Who works in 19438, and how
Work in 19438 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 19438
19438 has more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 19438 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19438, month by month
19438 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 19438
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 28 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19438
Schools across 19438 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- West Broad Street El SchA+ · 95% proficient
- Vernfield El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Oak Ridge El SchA+ · 90% proficient
Top middle schools
- Perkiomen Valley Ms-westA+ · 70% proficient
- Skyview Upper El SchA− · 58% proficient
- Indian Valley MsA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Methacton HsA+ · 86% proficient
- Perkiomen Valley HsA+ · 80% proficient
- Souderton Area ShsA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19438 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19438 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 19438 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19438 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 19438
Is 19438 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19438 ranks 804th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, good schools, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19438 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $493,233. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $145,912 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 19438 safe?
Yes, 19438 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $174 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19438?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 22. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of zip codes.
Is 19438 good for families?
Schools beat 96% of zip codes, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $1,296 a month.
Compare 19438 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19438. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19438 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.
19438 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19438: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19438: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19438: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19438: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19438 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.