ZIP 04978 vs ZIP 04963

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