ZIP 05254 vs ZIP 05255

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05254 (Manchester, VT) and ZIP 05255 (Manchester Center, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05254 has a population of 273 at 52 people per square mile, while ZIP 05255 has 4,121 at 40 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 05254 reports a median household income of $122,868 against $91,058 in ZIP 05255, with per-capita income of $56,664 vs $61,164. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 67.5% in 05254 and 45.4% in 05255. Poverty rate reads 6.8% vs 18.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.4% — 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 $558,300 in 05254 versus $445,500 in 05255, with median rent of — and $1,030 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.5% vs 74.2%. 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.