ZIP 18446 vs ZIP 18824

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18446 (Nicholson, PA) and ZIP 18824 (Hop Bottom, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18446 has a population of 3,733 at 28 people per square mile, while ZIP 18824 has 1,401 at 18 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 18446 reports a median household income of $71,157 against $72,250 in ZIP 18824, with per-capita income of $38,036 vs $42,833. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.6% in 18446 and 28.4% in 18824. Poverty rate reads 10.9% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 2.1% — 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 $206,400 in 18446 versus $173,600 in 18824, with median rent of $846 and $950 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.0% vs 84.6%. 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.