ZIP 04861 vs ZIP 04841

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04861 (Thomaston, ME) and ZIP 04841 (Rockland, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04861 has a population of 2,781 at 98 people per square mile, while ZIP 04841 has 7,297 at 219 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 04861 reports a median household income of $56,435 against $56,533 in ZIP 04841, with per-capita income of $33,828 vs $36,105. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.9% in 04861 and 35.6% in 04841. Poverty rate reads 6.6% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 6.6% — 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 $271,700 in 04861 versus $245,800 in 04841, with median rent of $1,262 and $1,092 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.9% vs 62.0%. 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.