ZIP 16617 vs ZIP 16601

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16617 (Bellwood, PA) and ZIP 16601 (Altoona, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16617 has a population of 2,806 at 667 people per square mile, while ZIP 16601 has 33,870 at 151 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 16617 reports a median household income of $52,609 against $58,070 in ZIP 16601, with per-capita income of $29,663 vs $32,490. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.3% in 16617 and 24.4% in 16601. Poverty rate reads 15.6% vs 15.7%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 4.8% - 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 $145,500 in 16617 versus $147,200 in 16601, with median rent of $921 and $803 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 69.4%. 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.