ZIP 06524 vs ZIP 06403

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06524 (Bethany, CT) and ZIP 06403 (Beacon Falls, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06524 has a population of 5,563 at 102 people per square mile, while ZIP 06403 has 6,033 at 241 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 06524 reports a median household income of $166,236 against $101,516 in ZIP 06403, with per-capita income of $66,409 vs $57,784. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 58.0% in 06524 and 44.6% in 06403. Poverty rate reads 2.3% vs 2.1%, and unemployment 1.1% vs 4.5% — 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 $418,000 in 06524 versus $350,300 in 06403, with median rent of — and $1,921 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.2% vs 85.5%. 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.