ZIP 17253 vs ZIP 17264

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17253 (Saltillo, PA) and ZIP 17264 (Three Springs, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17253 has a population of 337 at 491 people per square mile, while ZIP 17264 has 2,305 at 16 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 17253 reports a median household income of $71,143 against $53,382 in ZIP 17264, with per-capita income of $21,758 vs $29,704. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.5% in 17253 and 10.8% in 17264. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 1.1% vs 6.8% — 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 $161,600 in 17253 versus $168,000 in 17264, with median rent of $608 and $623 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.6% vs 87.0%. 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.