ZIP 16657 vs ZIP 16638

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16657 (James Creek, PA) and ZIP 16638 (Entriken, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16657 has a population of 1,343 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 16638 has 67 at 38 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 16657 reports a median household income of $63,353 against $86,500 in ZIP 16638, with per-capita income of $35,143 vs $34,731. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.5% in 16657 and 44.7% in 16638. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 0.0% — 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 $214,500 in 16657 versus $214,300 in 16638, with median rent of $683 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.7% vs 72.7%. 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.