ZIP 15554 vs ZIP 15539

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