ZIP 29153 vs ZIP 29104

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