ZIP 16502 vs ZIP 16508

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16502 (Erie, PA) and ZIP 16508 (Erie, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16502 has a population of 16,664 at 2,489 people per square mile, while ZIP 16508 has 16,050 at 2,192 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 16502 reports a median household income of $38,566 against $56,391 in ZIP 16508, with per-capita income of $26,082 vs $32,389. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.5% in 16502 and 30.0% in 16508. Poverty rate reads 29.9% vs 12.1%, and unemployment 9.3% 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 $93,000 in 16502 versus $132,500 in 16508, with median rent of $851 and $880 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 39.4% vs 68.6%. 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.