ZIP 16342 vs ZIP 16362

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16342 (Polk, PA) and ZIP 16362 (Utica, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16342 has a population of 2,281 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 16362 has 1,102 at 16 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 16342 reports a median household income of $63,750 against $65,833 in ZIP 16362, with per-capita income of $35,708 vs $36,500. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 16342 and 23.1% in 16362. Poverty rate reads 16.5% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 2.9% — 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 $114,700 in 16342 versus $183,000 in 16362, with median rent of $771 and $654 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.8% vs 86.8%. 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.