Best Places19604, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19604, 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.
19604 ranks 21,690th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 19604
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.
19604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19604 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 19604 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19604
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,993, 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 19604's effective rate of 1.57%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19604
19604 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 19604.
Who works in 19604, and how
Work in 19604 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 19604
19604 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 19604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19604, month by month
19604 sees roughly 59 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 19604
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19604
Schools across 19604 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oley Valley El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Sixteenth & Haak El SchB− · 40% proficient
- Mt Penn El SchC+ · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oley Valley MsA− · 55% proficient
- C E Cole Intermediate SchC · 34% proficient
- Northeast MsD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Oley Valley ShsA+ · 95% proficient
- Reading Muhlenberg CtcA · 75% proficient
- Muhlenberg HsB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19604 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 19604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19604 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 19604
Is 19604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19604 ranks 21,690th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, fast internet, and walkability, and lowest on education levels and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $131,188. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $58,993 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 19604 safe?
19604 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $373 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19604?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of zip codes.
Is 19604 good for families?
Schools beat 20% of zip codes, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare 19604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19604 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.
19604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19604 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.