ZIP 05442 vs ZIP 05492

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05442 (Belvidere Center, VT) and ZIP 05492 (Waterville, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05442 has a population of 339 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 05492 has 682 at 16 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 05442 reports a median household income of $81,563 against $67,857 in ZIP 05492, with per-capita income of $35,727 vs $40,729. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.9% in 05442 and 32.7% in 05492. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 4.6%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 9.2% — 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 $239,200 in 05442 versus $242,900 in 05492, with median rent of $1,542 and $1,110 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.1% vs 81.3%. 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.