ZIP 04419 vs ZIP 04434

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04419 (Carmel, ME) and ZIP 04434 (Etna, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04419 has a population of 2,794 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 04434 has 1,246 at 19 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 04419 reports a median household income of $82,188 against $72,379 in ZIP 04434, with per-capita income of $39,752 vs $31,163. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.2% in 04419 and 13.9% in 04434. Poverty rate reads 13.6% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 5.7% — 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 $256,800 in 04419 versus $183,000 in 04434, with median rent of $1,276 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.9% vs 94.9%. 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.