ZIP 04974 vs ZIP 04981

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04974 (Searsport, ME) and ZIP 04981 (Stockton Springs, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04974 has a population of 2,611 at 35 people per square mile, while ZIP 04981 has 2,316 at 24 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 04974 reports a median household income of $64,303 against $77,560 in ZIP 04981, with per-capita income of $38,903 vs $38,436. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.2% in 04974 and 27.0% in 04981. Poverty rate reads 14.6% vs 12.0%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 5.2% — 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 $224,400 in 04974 versus $239,000 in 04981, with median rent of $1,105 and $1,290 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.4% vs 84.4%. 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.