ZIP 05032 vs ZIP 05068

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05032 (Bethel, VT) and ZIP 05068 (South Royalton, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05032 has a population of 2,664 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 05068 has 3,125 at 23 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 05032 reports a median household income of $86,688 against $80,911 in ZIP 05068, with per-capita income of $60,303 vs $49,503. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.9% in 05032 and 46.9% in 05068. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 13.9%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 0.9% — 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 $251,200 in 05032 versus $298,600 in 05068, with median rent of $1,316 and $1,097 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 70.0%. 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.