ZIP 16156 vs ZIP 16137

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16156 (Volant, PA) and ZIP 16137 (Mercer, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16156 has a population of 3,319 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 16137 has 12,941 at 46 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 16156 reports a median household income of $69,054 against $71,250 in ZIP 16137, with per-capita income of $34,392 vs $32,601. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 16156 and 22.5% in 16137. Poverty rate reads 10.9% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 5.3% — 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 $221,400 in 16156 versus $187,000 in 16137, with median rent of $1,132 and $680 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.3% vs 80.3%. 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.