Best PlacesLehigh County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lehigh County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lehigh County ranks 366th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $88,706, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, the weather, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Lehigh County
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.
The best areas in Lehigh County
The parts of Lehigh County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Fogelsville
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Macungie & Breinigsville
Crime runs lower, though streets are more car-dependent.
Slatington, Schnecksville & New Tripoli
Schools score higher and more residents vote.
Coopersburg & Center Valley
Tree cover is thicker, though biking is worse.
Emmaus
Health care is easier to reach and prices have run up less.
Fullerton, Whitehall & Hokendauqua
Fewer households have young kids.
Bethlehem & Catasauqua
Transit reaches more jobs, though it is noisier.
Allentown
Homes cost less, though more homes sit empty.
Fountain Hill
Health outcomes score lower.
Lehigh County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 4% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Lehigh County's strengths and weaknesses
Lehigh County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Cell coverage is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Big-city access and walkability follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. The weather and property taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Lehigh County ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of counties
- TransitBetter than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
Where Lehigh County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lehigh County
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lehigh County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,706, 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 Lehigh County's effective rate of 1.50%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lehigh County
Lehigh County'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 Lehigh County.
Who works in Lehigh County, and how
Work in Lehigh County 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 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Lehigh County
Lehigh County has more parkland per resident than 87% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 73% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lehigh County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lehigh County growing, and who is moving in?
Lehigh County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Allentown, PA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lehigh County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lehigh County, month by month
Lehigh County sees roughly 61 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 Lehigh County
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lehigh County
Schools across Lehigh County average a B, better than 79% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Kernsville SchA+ · 95% proficient
- Ironton SchA+ · 95% proficient
- Cetronia SchA+ · 90% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southern Lehigh Intermediate SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Southern Lehigh MsA+ · 75% proficient
- Springhouse MsA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkland HsA+ · 92% proficient
- Southern Lehigh ShsA · 79% proficient
- Whitehall HsA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lehigh County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lehigh County 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 Lehigh County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lehigh County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of counties and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lehigh County
Is Lehigh County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lehigh County ranks 366th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and walkability, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lehigh County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $302,580. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $88,706 median income, cost of living beats 81% of counties.
Is Lehigh County safe?
Yes, Lehigh County is safer than 63% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lehigh County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 22. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Lehigh County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Fogelsville, Macungie & Breinigsville, and Slatington, Schnecksville & New Tripoli. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Lehigh County good for families?
Schools beat 79% of counties, crime safety beats 63%, and childcare runs $865 a month.
Is Lehigh County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 59% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Lehigh County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lehigh County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lehigh County 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.
Lehigh County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lehigh County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lehigh County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lehigh County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lehigh County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lehigh County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.