ZIP 16503 vs ZIP 16546

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16503 (Erie, PA) and ZIP 16546 (Erie, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16503 has a population of 16,850 at 2,664 people per square mile, while ZIP 16546 has 1,154 at 8,025 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 16503 reports a median household income of $32,340 against — in ZIP 16546, with per-capita income of $19,311 vs $5,443. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.9% in 16503 and 0.0% in 16546. Poverty rate reads 34.7% vs —, and unemployment 12.5% vs 4.3% — 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 $64,600 in 16503 versus — in 16546, with median rent of $869 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 38.0% vs —. 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.