ZIP 29104 vs ZIP 29153

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29104 (Mayesville, SC) and ZIP 29153 (Sumter, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29104 has a population of 1,531 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 29153 has 15,633 at 42 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 29104 reports a median household income of $67,096 against $60,071 in ZIP 29153, with per-capita income of $23,453 vs $34,114. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.3% in 29104 and 22.3% in 29153. Poverty rate reads 16.2% vs 22.9%, and unemployment 0.7% vs 6.7% — 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 $157,800 in 29104 versus $125,500 in 29153, with median rent of $919 and $910 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.0% vs 81.7%. 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.