ZIP 17027 vs ZIP 17055

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17027 (Grantham, PA) and ZIP 17055 (Mechanicsburg, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17027 has a population of 2,141 at 2,204 people per square mile, while ZIP 17055 has 34,237 at 317 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 17027 reports a median household income of $86,513 against $99,077 in ZIP 17055, with per-capita income of $26,440 vs $55,150. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.2% in 17027 and 48.3% in 17055. Poverty rate reads 6.5% vs 4.8%, and unemployment 7.3% vs 2.2% — 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 $252,400 in 17027 versus $284,500 in 17055, with median rent of $1,861 and $1,446 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.2% vs 70.8%. 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.