ZIP 18612 vs ZIP 18708

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18612 (Dallas, PA) and ZIP 18708 (Shavertown, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18612 has a population of 18,051 at 129 people per square mile, while ZIP 18708 has 8,817 at 206 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 18612 reports a median household income of $93,750 against $98,545 in ZIP 18708, with per-capita income of $41,551 vs $57,900. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.8% in 18612 and 47.7% in 18708. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 3.9% — 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 $259,300 in 18612 versus $264,800 in 18708, with median rent of $1,128 and $1,072 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.7% vs 86.2%. 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.