Best Places19490, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19490, 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.
19490 ranks 30th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19490
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.
19490's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19490 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$202,950 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 99% of zip codes
Where 19490 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,296 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 30% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19490
A household needs to earn about $173,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19490 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $202,950, 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 19490's effective rate of 1.06%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 19490
19490 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 19490.
Who works in 19490, and how
Work in 19490 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 19490
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 19490.
What the weather is like in 19490, month by month
19490 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 19490
Philadelphia International sits about 23 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 19490
Schools across 19490 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Worcester El SchA+ · 79% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyview Upper El SchA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Methacton HsA+ · 86% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19490 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19490 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 19490 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 19490
Is 19490 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19490 ranks 30th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, what local pay buys, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19490 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $637,200. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $202,950 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 19490 safe?
Yes, 19490 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $167 per resident a year.
Compare 19490 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19490. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19490 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.
19490 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19490: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19490: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19490: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19490: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19490 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.