ZIP 17320 vs ZIP 17214

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17320 (Fairfield, PA) and ZIP 17214 (Blue Ridge Summit, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17320 has a population of 7,823 at 54 people per square mile, while ZIP 17214 has 1,089 at 105 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 17320 reports a median household income of $90,076 against $62,188 in ZIP 17214, with per-capita income of $44,022 vs $43,734. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.9% in 17320 and 31.4% in 17214. Poverty rate reads 9.2% vs 2.9%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 2.8% — 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 $295,000 in 17320 versus $383,000 in 17214, with median rent of $1,200 and $845 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.0% vs 58.0%. 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.