ZIP 15055 vs ZIP 15017

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15055 (Lawrence, PA) and ZIP 15017 (Bridgeville, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15055 has a population of 1,360 at 778 people per square mile, while ZIP 15017 has 16,213 at 480 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 15055 reports a median household income of $71,719 against $86,937 in ZIP 15017, with per-capita income of $55,695 vs $53,307. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.8% in 15055 and 51.5% in 15017. Poverty rate reads 12.8% vs 5.4%, and unemployment 10.8% vs 3.0% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $232,100 in 15055 versus $246,500 in 15017, with median rent of $1,037 and $1,100 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.6% vs 73.2%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.