ZIP 05046 vs ZIP 05076

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05046 (Groton, VT) and ZIP 05076 (Topsham, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05046 has a population of 1,139 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 05076 has 412 at 6 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 05046 reports a median household income of $84,375 against $103,250 in ZIP 05076, with per-capita income of $39,722 vs $39,803. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.0% in 05046 and 32.1% in 05076. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 19.0%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 0.0% — 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 $259,000 in 05046 versus $221,400 in 05076, with median rent of $1,000 and $1,375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.5% vs 90.1%. 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.