ZIP 04543 vs ZIP 04539

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04543 (Damariscotta, ME) and ZIP 04539 (Bristol, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04543 has a population of 2,218 at 69 people per square mile, while ZIP 04539 has 1,168 at 28 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 04543 reports a median household income of $59,423 against $96,111 in ZIP 04539, with per-capita income of $42,644 vs $52,764. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.9% in 04543 and 41.8% in 04539. Poverty rate reads 11.9% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 13.1% — 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 $363,500 in 04543 versus $346,900 in 04539, with median rent of $1,027 and $1,093 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.0% vs 91.4%. 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.