ZIP 03446 vs ZIP 03431

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03446 (Swanzey, NH) and ZIP 03431 (Keene, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03446 has a population of 6,285 at 57 people per square mile, while ZIP 03431 has 25,280 at 164 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 03446 reports a median household income of $85,484 against $79,541 in ZIP 03431, with per-capita income of $42,625 vs $41,070. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.3% in 03446 and 41.9% in 03431. Poverty rate reads 7.4% vs 9.8%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 2.0% — 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 $262,100 in 03446 versus $255,500 in 03431, with median rent of $1,558 and $1,343 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.9% vs 56.2%. 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.