ZIP 04488 vs ZIP 04435

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04488 (Stetson, ME) and ZIP 04435 (Exeter, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04488 has a population of 1,202 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 04435 has 1,092 at 11 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 04488 reports a median household income of $76,023 against $84,408 in ZIP 04435, with per-capita income of $34,918 vs $37,551. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.8% in 04488 and 15.0% in 04435. Poverty rate reads 10.4% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 2.4% — 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 $205,700 in 04488 versus $166,700 in 04435, with median rent of $800 and $995 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.9% vs 93.1%. 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.