ZIP 29172 vs ZIP 29033

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29172 (West Columbia, SC) and ZIP 29033 (Cayce, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29172 has a population of 9,293 at 143 people per square mile, while ZIP 29033 has 11,603 at 502 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 29172 reports a median household income of $64,430 against $61,237 in ZIP 29033, with per-capita income of $31,949 vs $37,770. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.5% in 29172 and 31.2% in 29033. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 5.5% — 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 $180,800 in 29172 versus $163,800 in 29033, with median rent of $1,048 and $1,330 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.9% vs 60.7%. 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.