ZIP 04357 vs ZIP 04345

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04357 (Richmond, ME) and ZIP 04345 (Gardiner, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04357 has a population of 3,399 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 04345 has 11,646 at 62 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 04357 reports a median household income of $65,854 against $77,410 in ZIP 04345, with per-capita income of $34,148 vs $40,192. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.8% in 04357 and 29.7% in 04345. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 4.5% — 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 $242,700 in 04357 versus $242,800 in 04345, with median rent of $1,077 and $1,045 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.9% vs 77.6%. 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.