ZIP 19539 vs ZIP 19562

This side-by-side compares ZIP 19539 (Mertztown, PA) and ZIP 19562 (Topton, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 19539 has a population of 4,597 at 80 people per square mile, while ZIP 19562 has 2,622 at 996 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 19539 reports a median household income of $107,656 against $80,407 in ZIP 19562, with per-capita income of $52,516 vs $37,824. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.3% in 19539 and 18.1% in 19562. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 3.8% — 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 $266,700 in 19539 versus $212,300 in 19562, with median rent of $1,188 and $1,125 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.3% vs 56.8%. 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.