ZIP 18326 vs ZIP 18342

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18326 (Cresco, PA) and ZIP 18342 (Mountainhome, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18326 has a population of 4,152 at 48 people per square mile, while ZIP 18342 has 492 at 173 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 18326 reports a median household income of $85,352 against $68,843 in ZIP 18342, with per-capita income of $38,536 vs $36,444. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.5% in 18326 and 39.8% in 18342. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 9.6% — 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 $285,300 in 18326 versus $218,600 in 18342, with median rent of $1,102 and $1,138 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.0% vs 41.3%. 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.