Best PlacesFairview-Ferndale, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fairview-Ferndale, 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.
Fairview-Ferndale ranks 34,738th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Fairview-Ferndale
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.
Fairview-Ferndale's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fairview-Ferndale ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of towns
- BikingBetter than 88% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of towns
Where Fairview-Ferndale ranks low
- Household income$46,391 median, better than only 8% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Fairview-Ferndale
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fairview-Ferndale home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,391, 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 Fairview-Ferndale's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 Fairview-Ferndale
Fairview-Ferndale runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fairview-Ferndale.
Who works in Fairview-Ferndale, and how
Work in Fairview-Ferndale centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Fairview-Ferndale
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Fairview-Ferndale.
What the weather is like in Fairview-Ferndale, month by month
Fairview-Ferndale sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Fairview-Ferndale
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fairview-Ferndale
Schools across Fairview-Ferndale average a C+, better than 50% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Shamokin Area El SchA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shamokin Area MsD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Shamokin Area HsF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fairview-Ferndale school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fairview-Ferndale 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 Fairview-Ferndale against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Fairview-Ferndale
Is Fairview-Ferndale a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fairview-Ferndale ranks 34,738th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and big-city access, and lowest on low incomes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fairview-Ferndale expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $89,554. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $46,391 median income, cost of living beats 15% of towns.
Is Fairview-Ferndale safe?
Fairview-Ferndale is safer than 23% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $353 per resident a year.
Compare Fairview-Ferndale with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fairview-Ferndale. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fairview-Ferndale 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.
Fairview-Ferndale detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fairview-Ferndale: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fairview-Ferndale: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fairview-Ferndale: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fairview-Ferndale: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fairview-Ferndale 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.