ZIP 06357 vs ZIP 06376

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06357 (Niantic, CT) and ZIP 06376 (South Lyme, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06357 has a population of 12,552 at 460 people per square mile, while ZIP 06376 has 57 at 220 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 06357 reports a median household income of $93,026 against $156,000 in ZIP 06376, with per-capita income of $57,039 vs $153,121. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.2% in 06357 and 29.0% in 06376. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $397,300 in 06357 versus $444,400 in 06376, with median rent of $1,429 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.1% vs 100.0%. 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.