The 25 Most Expensive ZIP Codes In Pennsylvania
When you are thinking about where to buy a house and settle in, you shouldn't only take into consideration the city and state. Factors that are significant in their relation to homeowning, such as property taxes and school districts, operate on a smaller, more detailed level than the city-level. Therefore, shopping for homes in terms of ZIP code isn't a terrible approach because housing prices can vary substantially within a city based on the ZIP code.
Pennsylvania , the Keystone State, mixes major urban centers like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with the picturesque landscapes of the rural, Appalachian interior. Pennsylvania housing markets have gotten particularly hot since the onset of the pandemic four years ago. Read on to find out the most expensive ZIP codes in Pennsylvania in 2024 as well as trends and themes these places share.
The Most Expensive ZIP Codes in PennsylvaniaUsing data from Zillow's home value index , we analyzed thousands of ZIP codes across the U.S. in order to zero-in on the top 25 most expensive ZIP codes in Pennsylvania. As part of our analysis, we took into consideration the latest monthly home values Zillow has — September 2024 — as well as the average of 12 months of median home values from October 2023 to September 2024, in order to gain a fuller picture.
Below are the 25 most expensive ZIP codes in Pennsylvania .
It isn't particularly surprising that many of the most expensive ZIP codes are in the Philadelphia metro area. What is a bit surprising, though, is that none of the top 25 ZIP codes are in the Pittsburgh metro area.
The Top 5 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in PennsylvaniaZIP code 19035, which corresponds with the Philadelphia suburb of Gladwyne, is the No. 1 most expensive ZIP code in Pennsylvania. The median home value in September 2024 was nearly $1.4 million, up 0.3% since August 2024 and up 4.8% since last September's $1.334 million.
The second most expensive ZIP code — 19085 — covers the community of Villanova, which is appropriately the home of Villanova University. Homes here are staggeringly expensive. The median home value in September 2024 was just shy of $1.367 million. The year-over-year home value appreciation was even greater than in 19035: 5.2% in ZIP code 19085 versus 4.8% for 19035. Like so many other housing markets , home values in ZIP code 19085 experienced a pandemic-induced surge: The last time the median home value was below $1 million was March 2021, when it was $986,566.
The third most expensive ZIP code is a bit more unusual. ZIP code 18913 covers a portion of Carversville. Carversville is an unincorporated community and, geographically, a pretty isolated area in Solebury Township, Bucks County, roughly 45 miles north of Philadelphia. Carversville is fairly rural, but in ZIP code 18913, the houses get noticeably larger and more expensive. With a median home value of almost $1.038 million, ZIP code 18913 is one of six Pennsylvania ZIP codes to have a median value above $1 million. Home values have appreciated rapidly in 18913, with September 2024's median being up by 5.6% since the previous September.
The No. 4 most expensive ZIP code in Pennsylvania brings us back to the Philadelphia suburbs. ZIP code 19041 covers Haverford, an unincorporated community — what the Census Bureau labels a census-designated place (CDP) — within Haverford Township. The median home value in ZIP code 19041 is well over $1.034 million as of September 2024; that's an increase of 5% over September 2023's $985,631. ZIP code 19041 actually does not cover the area where Haverford College is.
The No. 5 most expensive ZIP code in Pennsylvania is 19437, which covers a small portion of Gwynedd Valley, an unincorporated community of Lower Gwynedd Township. In September 2024, the median home value in ZIP code 19437 breached the $1 million mark for the second time in 2024: First in June 2024, when the median home value reached $1,000,115, and then $1,001,484 in September 2024.
The Bottom Line on the Most Expensive ZIP Codes in PennsylvaniaOne of the most common themes among the most expensive ZIP codes is the heavy geographic emphasis on the Philadelphia metro area. The Main Line area and its suburbs dominate much of the list of the 25 most expensive ZIP codes; a number of them are just in Lower Merion Township alone. Another pattern are ZIP codes in more rural, remote areas that have witnessed their home values soar especially since the pandemic in 2020. Other geographic areas with several expensive ZIP codes include the portions of Pennsylvania upstream the Delaware River, outside the Philly area — 18902 in Doylestown, 18977 in Washington Crossing, and 18938 in New Hope being prime examples.
