ZIP 15856 vs ZIP 16838

This side-by-side compares ZIP 15856 (Rockton, PA) and ZIP 16838 (Grampian, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 15856 has a population of 889 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 16838 has 1,821 at 17 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 15856 reports a median household income of $61,985 against $57,917 in ZIP 16838, with per-capita income of $41,340 vs $31,165. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 15856 and 15.8% in 16838. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 19.1%, and unemployment 0.5% vs 7.7% — 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 $162,200 in 15856 versus $118,400 in 16838, with median rent of $1,000 and $920 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.6% vs 78.1%. 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.