ZIP 05829 vs ZIP 05872

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05829 (Derby, VT) and ZIP 05872 (West Charleston, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05829 has a population of 2,003 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 05872 has 789 at 13 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 05829 reports a median household income of $73,456 against $48,839 in ZIP 05872, with per-capita income of $41,290 vs $39,020. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.8% in 05829 and 14.3% in 05872. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 2.2% — 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 $216,200 in 05829 versus $235,900 in 05872, with median rent of $1,078 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.8% vs 88.4%. 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.