ZIP 04286 vs ZIP 04217

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04286 (West Bethel, ME) and ZIP 04217 (Bethel, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04286 has a population of 47 at 324 people per square mile, while ZIP 04217 has 3,312 at 7 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 04286 reports a median household income of — against $61,125 in ZIP 04217, with per-capita income of — vs $51,444. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 04286 and 36.9% in 04217. Poverty rate reads — vs 12.7%, and unemployment — vs 5.1% — 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 — in 04286 versus $329,700 in 04217, with median rent of — and $880 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 83.1%. 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.