ZIP 17861 vs ZIP 17842

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17861 (Paxtonville, PA) and ZIP 17842 (Middleburg, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17861 has a population of 143 at 383 people per square mile, while ZIP 17842 has 8,910 at 42 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 17861 reports a median household income of $66,607 against $62,940 in ZIP 17842, with per-capita income of $27,940 vs $32,917. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 17861 and 17.5% in 17842. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 11.6%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.1% — 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 $212,900 in 17861 versus $210,500 in 17842, with median rent of — and $878 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.1% vs 74.1%. 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.