ZIP 17046 vs ZIP 17026

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17046 (Lebanon, PA) and ZIP 17026 (Fredericksburg, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17046 has a population of 29,790 at 301 people per square mile, while ZIP 17026 has 3,616 at 62 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 17046 reports a median household income of $62,221 against $102,663 in ZIP 17026, with per-capita income of $32,048 vs $38,328. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.2% in 17046 and 17.6% in 17026. Poverty rate reads 16.8% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 7.8% vs 1.4% — 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 $191,000 in 17046 versus $275,000 in 17026, with median rent of $1,009 and $897 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.6% vs 87.7%. 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.