ZIP 17954 vs ZIP 17901

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17954 (Minersville, PA) and ZIP 17901 (Pottsville, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17954 has a population of 4,564 at 2,532 people per square mile, while ZIP 17901 has 23,990 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 17954 reports a median household income of $53,806 against $62,484 in ZIP 17901, with per-capita income of $25,650 vs $35,524. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.4% in 17954 and 23.0% in 17901. Poverty rate reads 26.4% vs 14.8%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 6.1% — 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 $83,300 in 17954 versus $152,100 in 17901, with median rent of $782 and $825 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.5% vs 70.1%. 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.