ZIP 17982 vs ZIP 18252

This side-by-side compares ZIP 17982 (Tuscarora, PA) and ZIP 18252 (Tamaqua, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 17982 has a population of 430 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 18252 has 11,188 at 73 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 17982 reports a median household income of $71,071 against $65,257 in ZIP 18252, with per-capita income of $33,998 vs $33,741. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.8% in 17982 and 18.6% in 18252. Poverty rate reads 16.8% vs 19.8%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 $105,500 in 17982 versus $156,300 in 18252, with median rent of $1,289 and $977 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.0% vs 64.5%. 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.