ZIP 29018 vs ZIP 29142

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29018 (Bowman, SC) and ZIP 29142 (Santee, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29018 has a population of 3,749 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 29142 has 4,890 at 37 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 29018 reports a median household income of $49,167 against $54,028 in ZIP 29142, with per-capita income of $26,457 vs $29,092. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.8% in 29018 and 22.1% in 29142. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 15.4%, and unemployment 8.0% vs 5.8% — 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 $108,000 in 29018 versus $182,500 in 29142, with median rent of $745 and $963 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% vs 84.3%. 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.