ZIP 15538 vs ZIP 15564

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15538 (Fairhope, PA) and ZIP 15564 (Wellersburg, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15538 has a population of 824 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 15564 has 50 at 16 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 15538 reports a median household income of $75,833 against $56,250 in ZIP 15564, with per-capita income of $33,579 vs $31,674. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.6% in 15538 and 21.2% in 15564. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 12.8%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 0.0% — 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 $175,000 in 15538 versus $158,300 in 15564, with median rent of — and $619 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.0% vs 63.4%. 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.