ZIP 15539 vs ZIP 15554

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15539 (Fishertown, PA) and ZIP 15554 (New Paris, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15539 has a population of 498 at 140 people per square mile, while ZIP 15554 has 2,553 at 28 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 15539 reports a median household income of $45,893 against $50,500 in ZIP 15554, with per-capita income of $29,199 vs $35,313. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.1% in 15539 and 17.7% in 15554. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 22.5%, and unemployment 48.9% vs 3.3% — 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 $135,200 in 15539 versus $273,000 in 15554, with median rent of — and $715 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 73.5%. 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.