ZIP 06484 vs ZIP 06418

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06484 (Shelton, CT) and ZIP 06418 (Derby, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06484 has a population of 39,559 at 499 people per square mile, while ZIP 06418 has 12,914 at 984 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 06484 reports a median household income of $108,185 against $78,542 in ZIP 06418, with per-capita income of $54,448 vs $46,718. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.7% in 06484 and 35.5% in 06418. Poverty rate reads 6.6% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 5.7% — 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 $452,600 in 06484 versus $258,500 in 06418, with median rent of $1,741 and $1,452 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.5% vs 61.6%. 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.