ZIP code 17978

ZIP 17978 is a very small community in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, with 670 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #1264 of 1,833 ranked by population — larger than 31% of them. The median age here is 34.5 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in ZIP 17978 earn a median of $59,444 a year, 24.3% below the national figure of $78,538. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 4.9% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 17978 is valued at $233,300, 23.1% below the national figure, while median gross rent runs $875 a month, 37.8% below the national figure, or roughly $10,500 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 17.7% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 61.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

With 670 residents, a handful of survey responses moves every median on this page. Compare ZIP 17978 against its county rather than against national figures.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

ZIP 17978 is tabulated inside Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, one of 26 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 1,833 across Pennsylvania. Fewer than 2,500 people are counted here, so the ZIP behaves like a village delivery route rather than a neighbourhood. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 17978 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 17978 reports a median household income of $59,444, 15% below the $69,958 county median, and 15% below the $70,000 typical PA ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $233,300, 30% above the county figure and 24% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $875 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

Pennsylvania charges 6% statewide, and local governments overlapping 17978 may add county, city or special-district levies on top. We publish the state floor for this ZIP rather than guessing a combined figure, because ZIP boundaries and taxing-district boundaries were drawn for different purposes and do not line up.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 17978 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.