ZIP 05656 vs ZIP 05442

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05656 (Johnson, VT) and ZIP 05442 (Belvidere Center, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05656 has a population of 3,508 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 05442 has 339 at 4 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 05656 reports a median household income of $55,133 against $81,563 in ZIP 05442, with per-capita income of $30,616 vs $35,727. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.5% in 05656 and 35.9% in 05442. Poverty rate reads 12.1% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 9.5% vs 3.8% — 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 $169,400 in 05656 versus $239,200 in 05442, with median rent of $950 and $1,542 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 58.1% vs 86.1%. 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.