ZIP 15563 vs ZIP 15541

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15563 (Stoystown, PA) and ZIP 15541 (Friedens, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15563 has a population of 3,345 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 15541 has 3,721 at 40 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 15563 reports a median household income of $62,411 against $62,992 in ZIP 15541, with per-capita income of $33,622 vs $35,355. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.2% in 15563 and 18.9% in 15541. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 7.1% — 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 $139,600 in 15563 versus $178,500 in 15541, with median rent of $646 and $919 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.2% vs 87.6%. 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.