ZIP 18011 vs ZIP 19539

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18011 (Alburtis, PA) and ZIP 19539 (Mertztown, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18011 has a population of 5,450 at 128 people per square mile, while ZIP 19539 has 4,597 at 80 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 18011 reports a median household income of $104,449 against $107,656 in ZIP 19539, with per-capita income of $43,568 vs $52,516. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.0% in 18011 and 27.3% in 19539. Poverty rate reads 4.1% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 3.3% — 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 $296,300 in 18011 versus $266,700 in 19539, with median rent of $1,704 and $1,188 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.8% vs 94.3%. 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.