ZIP 16827 vs ZIP 16851

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16827 (Boalsburg, PA) and ZIP 16851 (Lemont, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16827 has a population of 3,991 at 88 people per square mile, while ZIP 16851 has 866 at 81 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 16827 reports a median household income of $103,558 against $100,768 in ZIP 16851, with per-capita income of $57,661 vs $42,583. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 73.0% in 16827 and 44.1% in 16851. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 4.9% — 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 $429,300 in 16827 versus $420,400 in 16851, with median rent of $1,236 and $2,164 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.6% vs 73.6%. 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.