ZIP 17563 vs ZIP 21918

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17563 (Peach Bottom, PA) and ZIP 21918 (Conowingo, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17563 has a population of 3,849 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 21918 has 4,284 at 94 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 17563 reports a median household income of $94,167 against $84,587 in ZIP 21918, with per-capita income of $35,384 vs $47,697. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.1% in 17563 and 16.1% in 21918. Poverty rate reads 6.6% vs 6.1%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 3.1% — 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 $318,300 in 17563 versus $324,800 in 21918, with median rent of $1,374 and $876 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.4% vs 88.6%. 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.