ZIP 15780 vs ZIP 15744

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