ZIP 19604 vs ZIP 19602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 19604 (Reading, PA) and ZIP 19602 (Reading, PA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 19604 has a population of 27,658 at 4,883 people per square mile, while ZIP 19602 has 17,900 at 2,794 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 19604 reports a median household income of $52,905 against $34,582 in ZIP 19602, with per-capita income of $21,629 vs $19,090. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.6% in 19604 and 10.1% in 19602. Poverty rate reads 21.1% vs 35.5%, and unemployment 12.3% vs 17.1% — 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 $119,000 in 19604 versus $96,000 in 19602, with median rent of $1,183 and $1,041 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.0% vs 26.5%. 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.