ZIP 29209 vs ZIP 29206

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29209 (Columbia, SC) and ZIP 29206 (Columbia, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29209 has a population of 33,324 at 249 people per square mile, while ZIP 29206 has 17,788 at 803 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 29209 reports a median household income of $58,772 against $91,847 in ZIP 29206, with per-capita income of $37,989 vs $60,637. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.2% in 29209 and 61.6% in 29206. Poverty rate reads 19.1% vs 6.1%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 2.6% — 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 $206,500 in 29209 versus $369,500 in 29206, with median rent of $1,326 and $1,419 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 58.7% vs 65.7%. 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.