ZIP 04970 vs ZIP 04964

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04970 (Rangeley, ME) and ZIP 04964 (Oquossoc, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04970 has a population of 1,620 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 04964 has 221 at 1 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 04970 reports a median household income of $60,882 against — in ZIP 04964, with per-capita income of $47,082 vs $41,179. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.6% in 04970 and 72.2% in 04964. Poverty rate reads 4.4% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 11.9% vs 100.0% — 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 $422,500 in 04970 versus $325,000 in 04964, with median rent of $673 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.9% vs 82.6%. 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.