ZIP 04863 vs ZIP 04853

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04863 (Vinalhaven, ME) and ZIP 04853 (North Haven, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04863 has a population of 1,165 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 04853 has 354 at 12 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 04863 reports a median household income of $72,963 against $87,500 in ZIP 04853, with per-capita income of $59,679 vs $49,984. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.7% in 04863 and 55.4% in 04853. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 1.2% - 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 $428,400 in 04863 versus $440,200 in 04853, with median rent of $1,017 and $913 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 82.0%. 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.