ZIP 19964 vs ZIP 19953

This side-by-side compares ZIP 19964 (Marydel, DE) and ZIP 19953 (Hartly, DE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 19964 has a population of 1,340 at 55 people per square mile, while ZIP 19953 has 4,386 at 58 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 19964 reports a median household income of $99,402 against $81,792 in ZIP 19953, with per-capita income of $46,444 vs $32,877. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.3% in 19964 and 16.1% in 19953. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 13.6% — 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 $329,900 in 19964 versus $246,700 in 19953, with median rent of $1,094 and $1,157 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.5% vs 78.3%. 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.