ZIP 18644 vs ZIP 18709

This side-by-side compares ZIP 18644 (Wyoming, PA) and ZIP 18709 (Luzerne, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 18644 has a population of 7,546 at 178 people per square mile, while ZIP 18709 has 2,903 at 1,420 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 18644 reports a median household income of $70,026 against $42,135 in ZIP 18709, with per-capita income of $49,359 vs $32,009. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.8% in 18644 and 16.2% in 18709. Poverty rate reads 7.4% vs 23.2%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 6.1% — 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 $179,200 in 18644 versus $113,600 in 18709, with median rent of $922 and $807 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.7% vs 58.0%. 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.