ZIP 04222 vs ZIP 04250

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04222 (Durham, ME) and ZIP 04250 (Lisbon, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04222 has a population of 3,848 at 39 people per square mile, while ZIP 04250 has 4,228 at 137 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 04222 reports a median household income of $99,181 against $84,028 in ZIP 04250, with per-capita income of $46,553 vs $40,965. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.8% in 04222 and 24.3% in 04250. Poverty rate reads 4.2% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 1.0% — 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 $322,200 in 04222 versus $257,700 in 04250, with median rent of — and $1,010 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.4% vs 75.9%. 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.