Best PlacesBowmanstown, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bowmanstown, 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.
Bowmanstown ranks 28,882nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bowmanstown
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.
Bowmanstown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bowmanstown ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of towns
- TransitBetter than 91% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of towns
Where Bowmanstown ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 2% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Bowmanstown
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bowmanstown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,536, 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 Bowmanstown's effective rate of 1.77%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bowmanstown
Bowmanstown's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bowmanstown.
Who works in Bowmanstown, and how
Work in Bowmanstown centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Bowmanstown
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Bowmanstown.
What the weather is like in Bowmanstown, month by month
Bowmanstown sees roughly 63 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 Bowmanstown
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bowmanstown
Schools across Bowmanstown average an A−, better than 89% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- S S Palmer El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Slatington El SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palmerton Area JhsA− · 55% proficient
- Northern Lehigh MsB− · 40% proficient
- Lehighton Area MsB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Lehighton Area HsA · 70% proficient
- Northern Lehigh ShsD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bowmanstown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bowmanstown 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 Bowmanstown against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Bowmanstown
Is Bowmanstown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bowmanstown ranks 28,882nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and transit, and lowest on a weak job market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bowmanstown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,013. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $69,536 median income, cost of living beats 38% of towns.
Is Bowmanstown safe?
Bowmanstown is safer than 41% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
Compare Bowmanstown with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bowmanstown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bowmanstown 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.
Bowmanstown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bowmanstown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bowmanstown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bowmanstown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bowmanstown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bowmanstown 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.