ZIP 18248 vs ZIP 18242

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18248 (Sheppton, PA) and ZIP 18242 (Oneida, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18248 has a population of 631 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 18242 has 235 at 72 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 18248 reports a median household income of $58,625 against $165,720 in ZIP 18242, with per-capita income of $25,956 vs $47,398. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.0% in 18248 and 2.4% in 18242. Poverty rate reads 41.8% vs 5.4%, and unemployment 8.5% 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 $157,300 in 18248 versus $133,500 in 18242, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.6% vs 100.0%. 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.