Best PlacesNorthampton County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Northampton 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.
Northampton County ranks 231st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $94,670, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are the weather, noise, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Northampton 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 Northampton County
The parts of Northampton 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.
Nazareth & Wind Gap
Schools score higher, crime runs lower, and fewer homes sit empty.
Northampton
Streets are more car-dependent and tree cover is thinner.
Hellertown & Freemansburg
More households have young kids and biking is better.
Walnutport, Bath & Danielsville
It is quieter, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Easton
Fewer residents vote.
Bethlehem
Commutes are shorter, though incomes run lower.
Bangor, Pen Argyl & Mount Bethel
Advertised internet is faster, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Northampton County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 11% of the country and others in the top 3%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Northampton County's strengths and weaknesses
Northampton County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Walkability and cell coverage follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. The weather, noise, and property taxes hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Northampton County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of counties
- TransitBetter than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 95% of counties
Where Northampton County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 8% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Northampton County
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northampton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,670, 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 Northampton County's effective rate of 1.42%, 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 Northampton County
Northampton County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Northampton County.
Who works in Northampton County, and how
Work in Northampton County 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 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Northampton County
Northampton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of counties and more parkland per resident than 86% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Northampton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Northampton County growing, and who is moving in?
Northampton 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 Northampton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Northampton County, month by month
Northampton County sees roughly 60 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 Northampton County
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around Northampton County
Schools across Northampton County average a B, better than 77% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hanover El SchA+ · 82% proficient
- Moore El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Miller Heights El SchA+ · 77% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nazareth Area Intermediate SchA · 65% proficient
- Saucon Valley MsA · 60% proficient
- Wind Gap MsA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilson Area HsA · 75% proficient
- Nazareth Area HsA · 74% proficient
- Bangor Area HsA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northampton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northampton 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 Northampton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Northampton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Northampton County
Is Northampton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northampton County ranks 231st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Northampton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $311,929. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $94,670 median income, cost of living beats 87% of counties.
Is Northampton County safe?
Yes, Northampton County is safer than 82% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $228 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Northampton County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 22. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Northampton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Nazareth & Wind Gap, Northampton, and Hellertown & Freemansburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Northampton County good for families?
Schools beat 77% of counties, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $907 a month.
Is Northampton County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 61% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Northampton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northampton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northampton 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.
Northampton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northampton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northampton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northampton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northampton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northampton 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.