Best PlacesNorth York, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North York, 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.
North York ranks 18,068th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North York
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.
North York's strengths and weaknesses
Where North York ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of towns
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of towns
Where North York ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North York
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North York home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,913, 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 North York's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 North York
North York runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North York.
Who works in North York, and how
Work in North York centers on retail trade and health care & social. 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 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in North York
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North York.
What the weather is like in North York, month by month
North York sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 21° |
| April | 67° | 53° | 39° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of North York
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around North York
Schools across North York average a B−, better than 59% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hayshire El SchD+ · 23% proficient
- Hannah PennF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central York MsB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Central York HsA− · 61% proficient
- William Penn ShsD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North York school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North York 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 North York against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North York
Is North York a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North York ranks 18,068th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North York expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,200. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $63,913 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is North York safe?
North York is safer than 31% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $310 per resident a year.
Compare North York with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North York. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North York 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.
North York detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North York: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North York: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North York: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North York: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North York 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.