ZIP 15744 vs ZIP 15780

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15744 (Hamilton, PA) and ZIP 15780 (Valier, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15744 has a population of 105 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 15780 has 148 at 45 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 15744 reports a median household income of $111,875 against $89,583 in ZIP 15780, with per-capita income of $40,564 vs $35,072. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.6% in 15744 and 4.8% in 15780. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 $96,700 in 15744 versus $80,800 in 15780, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 92.2%. 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.