ZIP 16901 vs ZIP 16935

This side-by-side compares ZIP 16901 (Wellsboro, PA) and ZIP 16935 (Middlebury Center, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 16901 has a population of 10,243 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 16935 has 1,256 at 10 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 16901 reports a median household income of $67,146 against $63,125 in ZIP 16935, with per-capita income of $37,891 vs $36,425. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.8% in 16901 and 24.9% in 16935. Poverty rate reads 7.4% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 7.3% — 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 $237,100 in 16901 versus $200,000 in 16935, with median rent of $900 and $1,375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.9% vs 89.1%. 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.