ZIP 03249 vs ZIP 03246

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03249 (Gilford, NH) and ZIP 03246 (Laconia, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03249 has a population of 7,113 at 71 people per square mile, while ZIP 03246 has 15,963 at 308 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 03249 reports a median household income of $116,635 against $73,241 in ZIP 03246, with per-capita income of $55,713 vs $46,884. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.4% in 03249 and 27.2% in 03246. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 12.6%, and unemployment 1.3% vs 3.1% — 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 $456,500 in 03249 versus $339,700 in 03246, with median rent of $1,150 and $1,224 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.1% vs 64.3%. 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.