ZIP 03246 vs ZIP 03253

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03246 (Laconia, NH) and ZIP 03253 (Meredith, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03246 has a population of 15,963 at 308 people per square mile, while ZIP 03253 has 6,219 at 62 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 03246 reports a median household income of $73,241 against $84,719 in ZIP 03253, with per-capita income of $46,884 vs $57,980. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.2% in 03246 and 46.0% in 03253. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 3.1% 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 $339,700 in 03246 versus $482,700 in 03253, with median rent of $1,224 and $1,149 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.3% vs 75.5%. 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.