ZIP 17976 vs ZIP 17934

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17976 (Shenandoah, PA) and ZIP 17934 (Gilberton, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17976 has a population of 6,937 at 349 people per square mile, while ZIP 17934 has 469 at 191 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 17976 reports a median household income of $57,587 against $69,659 in ZIP 17934, with per-capita income of $27,006 vs $23,462. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.7% in 17976 and 8.4% in 17934. Poverty rate reads 26.8% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 11.3% vs 2.4% — 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 $55,200 in 17976 versus $44,000 in 17934, with median rent of $1,024 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.2% vs 85.5%. 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.