ZIP 18436 vs ZIP 18431

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18436 (Lake Ariel, PA) and ZIP 18431 (Honesdale, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18436 has a population of 13,853 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 18431 has 12,666 at 36 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 18436 reports a median household income of $69,498 against $56,779 in ZIP 18431, with per-capita income of $37,302 vs $35,456. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.7% in 18436 and 26.6% in 18431. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 9.2% vs 5.4% — 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 $239,600 in 18436 versus $230,200 in 18431, with median rent of $1,089 and $1,024 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 71.6%. 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.