ZIP 16838 vs ZIP 15856

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16838 (Grampian, PA) and ZIP 15856 (Rockton, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16838 has a population of 1,821 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 15856 has 889 at 9 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 16838 reports a median household income of $57,917 against $61,985 in ZIP 15856, with per-capita income of $31,165 vs $41,340. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.8% in 16838 and 20.7% in 15856. Poverty rate reads 19.1% vs 10.1%, and unemployment 7.7% vs 0.5% — 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 $118,400 in 16838 versus $162,200 in 15856, with median rent of $920 and $1,000 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.1% vs 90.6%. 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.