ZIP 29009 vs ZIP 29101

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29009 (Bethune, SC) and ZIP 29101 (Mc Bee, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29009 has a population of 2,440 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 29101 has 3,023 at 11 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 29009 reports a median household income of $57,857 against $56,750 in ZIP 29101, with per-capita income of $29,326 vs $39,753. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.3% in 29009 and 12.8% in 29101. Poverty rate reads 14.4% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 8.6% — 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 $97,800 in 29009 versus $125,300 in 29101, with median rent of $1,064 and $670 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.8% vs 79.5%. 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.