ZIP 15243 vs ZIP 15228

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15243 (Pittsburgh, PA) and ZIP 15228 (Pittsburgh, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15243 has a population of 13,406 at 1,721 people per square mile, while ZIP 15228 has 17,595 at 2,163 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 15243 reports a median household income of $116,200 against $123,681 in ZIP 15228, with per-capita income of $62,886 vs $70,685. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 59.8% in 15243 and 68.2% in 15228. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 2.0% 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 $283,500 in 15243 versus $383,700 in 15228, with median rent of $1,543 and $1,194 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.9% vs 68.6%. 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.