Best Places19539, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19539, 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.
19539 ranks 6,775th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 19539
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.
19539's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19539 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 19539 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19539
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19539 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,383, 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 19539's effective rate of 1.46%, 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 19539
19539 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19539.
Who works in 19539, and how
Work in 19539 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 19539
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 19539.
What the weather is like in 19539, month by month
19539 sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 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° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 40° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 19539
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19539
Schools across 19539 average an A−, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kutztown El SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Alburtis El SchA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brandywine Heights Intrmd/msA− · 58% proficient
- Lower Macungie MsB · 47% proficient
- Kutztown Area MsB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Emmaus HsB+ · 58% proficient
- Kutztown Area ShsB+ · 53% proficient
- Brandywine Heights HsB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19539 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19539 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 19539 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 19539
Is 19539 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19539 ranks 6,775th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19539 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,783. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $95,383 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 19539 safe?
Yes, 19539 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $176 per resident a year.
Compare 19539 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19539. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19539 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.
19539 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19539: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19539: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19539: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19539: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19539 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.