Best Places19605, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19605, 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.
19605 ranks 8,444th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 19605
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.
19605's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19605 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 19605 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19605
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19605 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,096, 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 19605's effective rate of 1.69%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19605
19605 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19605.
Who works in 19605, and how
Work in 19605 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 19605
19605 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 19605 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19605, month by month
19605 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 19605
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19605
Schools across 19605 average a C+, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Schuylkill Valley El SchA · 70% proficient
- Andrew Maier El SchB · 50% proficient
- Glenside El SchB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schuylkill Valley MsB · 45% proficient
- Fleetwood MsB− · 42% proficient
- C E Cole Intermediate SchC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Schuylkill Valley HsA+ · 80% proficient
- Fleetwood ShsB · 48% proficient
- Muhlenberg HsB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19605 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19605 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 19605 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19605 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 19605
Is 19605 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19605 ranks 8,444th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, big-city access, and few empty homes, 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 19605 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,156. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $94,096 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 19605 safe?
19605 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $305 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19605?
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 19605 good for families?
Schools beat 45% of zip codes, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare 19605 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19605. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19605 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.
19605 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19605: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19605: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19605: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19605: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19605 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.