ZIP 29142 vs ZIP 29163

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29142 (Santee, SC) and ZIP 29163 (Vance, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29142 has a population of 4,890 at 37 people per square mile, while ZIP 29163 has 1,975 at 26 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 29142 reports a median household income of $54,028 against $33,971 in ZIP 29163, with per-capita income of $29,092 vs $19,837. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 29142 and 8.2% in 29163. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 25.7%, and unemployment 5.8% vs 10.0% — 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 $182,500 in 29142 versus $68,000 in 29163, with median rent of $963 and $738 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.3% vs 70.9%. 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.