ZIP 04271 vs ZIP 04281

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04271 (Paris, ME) and ZIP 04281 (South Paris, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04271 has a population of 67 at 143 people per square mile, while ZIP 04281 has 5,116 at 49 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 04271 reports a median household income of — against $75,137 in ZIP 04281, with per-capita income of — vs $33,381. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 04271 and 28.8% in 04281. Poverty rate reads — vs 12.5%, and unemployment — vs 1.5% — 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 — in 04271 versus $240,400 in 04281, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 60.2%. 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.