Best Placesmiddletown, Bethlehem, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around middletown, Bethlehem, 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.
middletown, Bethlehem ranks 1,316th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in middletown, Bethlehem
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.
middletown, Bethlehem's strengths and weaknesses
Where middletown, Bethlehem ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where middletown, Bethlehem ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 34% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in middletown, Bethlehem
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median middletown, Bethlehem home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,195, 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 middletown, Bethlehem's effective rate of 1.46%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in middletown, Bethlehem
middletown, Bethlehem runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for middletown, Bethlehem.
Who works in middletown, Bethlehem, and how
Work in middletown, Bethlehem centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in middletown, Bethlehem
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across middletown, Bethlehem.
What the weather is like in middletown, Bethlehem, month by month
middletown, Bethlehem sees roughly 58 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 middletown, Bethlehem
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around middletown, Bethlehem
Schools across middletown, Bethlehem average a B, better than 77% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Miller Heights El SchA+ · 77% proficient
- Farmersville El SchA · 68% proficient
- Governor Wolf El SchA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Hills MsB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Freedom HsC · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every middletown, Bethlehem school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
middletown, Bethlehem 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 middletown, Bethlehem against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in middletown, Bethlehem
Is middletown, Bethlehem a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, middletown, Bethlehem ranks 1,316th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on few empty homes, civic engagement, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is middletown, Bethlehem expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,952. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $104,195 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is middletown, Bethlehem safe?
Yes, middletown, Bethlehem is safer than 81% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare middletown, Bethlehem with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to middletown, Bethlehem. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in middletown, Bethlehem 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.
middletown, Bethlehem detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for middletown, Bethlehem: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in middletown, Bethlehem: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of middletown, Bethlehem: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in middletown, Bethlehem: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
middletown, Bethlehem 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.