ZIP 17044 vs ZIP 17004

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17044 (Lewistown, PA) and ZIP 17004 (Belleville, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17044 has a population of 21,209 at 84 people per square mile, while ZIP 17004 has 5,000 at 40 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 17044 reports a median household income of $59,935 against $65,068 in ZIP 17004, with per-capita income of $31,502 vs $28,559. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.0% in 17044 and 14.7% in 17004. Poverty rate reads 19.4% vs 13.4%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 1.6% — 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 $142,600 in 17044 versus $206,900 in 17004, with median rent of $814 and $806 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 61.4% vs 73.5%. 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.