ZIP 18015 vs ZIP 18018

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18015 (Bethlehem, PA) and ZIP 18018 (Bethlehem, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18015 has a population of 32,832 at 597 people per square mile, while ZIP 18018 has 32,413 at 2,424 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 18015 reports a median household income of $60,800 against $75,417 in ZIP 18018, with per-capita income of $35,231 vs $48,627. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.2% in 18015 and 38.8% in 18018. Poverty rate reads 16.6% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 5.5% — 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 $281,700 in 18015 versus $250,900 in 18018, with median rent of $1,353 and $1,364 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.5% vs 53.2%. 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.