ZIP 29168 vs ZIP 29154

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29168 (Wedgefield, SC) and ZIP 29154 (Sumter, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29168 has a population of 3,582 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 29154 has 28,135 at 137 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 29168 reports a median household income of $43,911 against $62,772 in ZIP 29154, with per-capita income of $23,078 vs $32,249. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.0% in 29168 and 25.5% in 29154. Poverty rate reads 22.5% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 6.8% — 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 $34,900 in 29168 versus $190,600 in 29154, with median rent of $1,022 and $1,139 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.9% vs 72.8%. 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.