ZIP 18603 vs ZIP 18635

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18603 (Berwick, PA) and ZIP 18635 (Nescopeck, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18603 has a population of 19,320 at 145 people per square mile, while ZIP 18635 has 3,881 at 39 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 18603 reports a median household income of $60,352 against $73,480 in ZIP 18635, with per-capita income of $33,105 vs $39,155. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 18603 and 24.3% in 18635. Poverty rate reads 13.4% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 4.5% — 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 $170,500 in 18603 versus $195,800 in 18635, with median rent of $810 and $896 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.7% vs 80.7%. 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.