ZIP 18101 vs ZIP 18102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18101 (Allentown, PA) and ZIP 18102 (Allentown, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18101 has a population of 3,897 at 4,305 people per square mile, while ZIP 18102 has 49,779 at 6,414 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 18101 reports a median household income of $44,773 against $43,085 in ZIP 18102, with per-capita income of $28,551 vs $19,885. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.2% in 18101 and 11.6% in 18102. Poverty rate reads 22.8% vs 29.2%, and unemployment 14.7% vs 10.9% — 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 $171,300 in 18101 versus $163,400 in 18102, with median rent of $1,430 and $1,248 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 8.3% vs 32.1%. 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.