ZIP 17098 vs ZIP 17097

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17098 (Williamstown, PA) and ZIP 17097 (Wiconisco, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17098 has a population of 2,528 at 100 people per square mile, while ZIP 17097 has 925 at 119 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 17098 reports a median household income of $63,041 against $69,063 in ZIP 17097, with per-capita income of $30,862 vs $28,701. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.5% in 17098 and 10.5% in 17097. Poverty rate reads 19.2% vs 7.4%, and unemployment 10.1% vs 7.2% — 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 $122,000 in 17098 versus $99,500 in 17097, with median rent of $839 and $1,063 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.5% vs 83.0%. 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.