ZIP 18109 vs ZIP 18032

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18109 (Allentown, PA) and ZIP 18032 (Catasauqua, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18109 has a population of 16,932 at 798 people per square mile, while ZIP 18032 has 9,285 at 1,784 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 18109 reports a median household income of $58,031 against $81,098 in ZIP 18032, with per-capita income of $28,396 vs $40,270. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.0% in 18109 and 28.7% in 18032. Poverty rate reads 18.1% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 8.2% vs 6.3% — 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 $198,800 in 18109 versus $222,700 in 18032, with median rent of $1,331 and $977 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.1% vs 74.9%. 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.