ZIP 29020 vs ZIP 29045

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29020 (Camden, SC) and ZIP 29045 (Elgin, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29020 has a population of 22,463 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 29045 has 21,871 at 121 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 29020 reports a median household income of $64,648 against $87,366 in ZIP 29045, with per-capita income of $40,465 vs $41,771. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.3% in 29020 and 33.2% in 29045. Poverty rate reads 16.7% vs 11.1%, and unemployment 6.5% 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 $240,100 in 29020 versus $266,400 in 29045, with median rent of $928 and $1,321 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.6% vs 85.2%. 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.