ZIP 04578 vs ZIP 04556

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04578 (Wiscasset, ME) and ZIP 04556 (Edgecomb, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04578 has a population of 4,450 at 51 people per square mile, while ZIP 04556 has 1,249 at 27 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 04578 reports a median household income of $81,063 against $108,750 in ZIP 04556, with per-capita income of $43,393 vs $48,713. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.1% in 04578 and 39.8% in 04556. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 3.1% — 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 $327,400 in 04578 versus $348,400 in 04556, with median rent of $1,480 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.8% vs 90.7%. 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.