Best Places19601, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19601, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
19601 ranks 28,419th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19601
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.
19601's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19601 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 19601 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19601
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19601 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,783, 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 19601's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19601
19601 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19601.
Who works in 19601, and how
Work in 19601 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 19601
19601 has more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 19601 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19601, month by month
19601 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 19601
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19601
Schools across 19601 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Schuylkill Valley El SchA · 70% proficient
- Cumru El SchB+ · 53% proficient
- Tenth & Penn El SchB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schuylkill Valley MsB · 45% proficient
- Intermediate SchC · 34% proficient
- C E Cole Intermediate SchC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Wyomissing Area JshsA+ · 90% proficient
- Schuylkill Valley HsA+ · 80% proficient
- Governor Mifflin ShsB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19601 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19601 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 19601 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19601 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 19601
Is 19601 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19601 ranks 28,419th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and transit, and lowest on taxes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19601 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $127,180. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $45,783 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 19601 safe?
19601 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $445 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19601?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of zip codes.
Is 19601 good for families?
Schools beat 22% of zip codes, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare 19601 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19601. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19601 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.
19601 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19601: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19601: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19601: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19601: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19601 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.