ZIP 04975 vs ZIP 04901

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04975 (Shawmut, ME) and ZIP 04901 (Waterville, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04975 has a population of 48 at 337 people per square mile, while ZIP 04901 has 26,248 at 129 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 04975 reports a median household income of — against $57,403 in ZIP 04901, with per-capita income of — vs $34,107. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.9% in 04975 and 29.4% in 04901. Poverty rate reads 57.1% vs 16.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.9% — 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 — in 04975 versus $204,700 in 04901, with median rent of — and $990 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 60.7%. 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.