ZIP 16509 vs ZIP 16504

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16509 (Erie, PA) and ZIP 16504 (Erie, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16509 has a population of 26,810 at 272 people per square mile, while ZIP 16504 has 17,322 at 2,400 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 16509 reports a median household income of $68,846 against $56,622 in ZIP 16504, with per-capita income of $39,267 vs $29,939. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.2% in 16509 and 25.7% in 16504. Poverty rate reads 12.5% vs 13.8%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 6.0% — 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 $220,500 in 16509 versus $116,400 in 16504, with median rent of $1,092 and $1,048 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.7% vs 72.2%. 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.