ZIP 15221 vs ZIP 15104

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15221 (Pittsburgh, PA) and ZIP 15104 (Braddock, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15221 has a population of 31,060 at 1,951 people per square mile, while ZIP 15104 has 9,038 at 1,425 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 15221 reports a median household income of $55,028 against $40,104 in ZIP 15104, with per-capita income of $40,791 vs $26,891. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.8% in 15221 and 12.9% in 15104. Poverty rate reads 19.2% vs 27.4%, and unemployment 9.4% vs 18.5% — 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 $171,300 in 15221 versus $66,800 in 15104, with median rent of $997 and $684 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 44.7% vs 43.7%. 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.