ZIP 04963 vs ZIP 04978

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04963 (Oakland, ME) and ZIP 04978 (Smithfield, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04963 has a population of 7,238 at 55 people per square mile, while ZIP 04978 has 799 at 20 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 04963 reports a median household income of $77,708 against $107,917 in ZIP 04978, with per-capita income of $39,914 vs $55,791. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.8% in 04963 and 34.7% in 04978. Poverty rate reads 8.4% vs 5.8%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 5.3% — 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 $247,200 in 04963 versus $242,800 in 04978, with median rent of $948 and $1,109 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.9% vs 88.9%. 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.