Best PlacesWest Middletown, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Middletown, 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.
West Middletown ranks 15,635th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Middletown
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.
West Middletown's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Middletown ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 79% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of towns
Where West Middletown ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,005 a month, better than only 24% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Middletown
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Middletown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,581, 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 West Middletown's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 West Middletown
West Middletown 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 West Middletown.
Who works in West Middletown, and how
Work in West Middletown centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Middletown
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Middletown.
What the weather is like in West Middletown, month by month
West Middletown sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of West Middletown
Pittsburgh International sits about 20 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.8 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Middletown
Schools across West Middletown average a B+, better than 79% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Avella El CenterB · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Avella Area JshsB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Middletown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Middletown 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 West Middletown against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Middletown
Is West Middletown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Middletown ranks 15,635th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low crime, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Middletown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $221,082. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $75,581 median income, cost of living beats 59% of towns.
Is West Middletown safe?
Yes, West Middletown is safer than 87% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $162 per resident a year.
Compare West Middletown with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Middletown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Middletown 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.
West Middletown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Middletown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Middletown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Middletown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Middletown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Middletown 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.