ZIP 05776 vs ZIP 05251

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05776 (West Rupert, VT) and ZIP 05251 (Dorset, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05776 has a population of 714 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 05251 has 1,350 at 15 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 05776 reports a median household income of $64,375 against $151,163 in ZIP 05251, with per-capita income of $33,279 vs $90,734. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.1% in 05776 and 69.8% in 05251. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 1.3% — 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 $295,000 in 05776 versus $567,900 in 05251, with median rent of — and $1,942 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.9% vs 93.1%. 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.