ZIP 16245 vs ZIP 16230

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16245 (Oak Ridge, PA) and ZIP 16230 (Hawthorn, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16245 has a population of 207 at 135 people per square mile, while ZIP 16230 has 494 at 186 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 16245 reports a median household income of $48,438 against $46,932 in ZIP 16230, with per-capita income of $27,605 vs $24,040. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.8% in 16245 and 14.6% in 16230. Poverty rate reads 13.3% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 14.0% vs 4.9% — 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 $83,300 in 16245 versus $92,900 in 16230, with median rent of $597 and $715 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.1% vs 74.9%. 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.