ZIP 29229 vs ZIP 29223

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29229 (Columbia, SC) and ZIP 29223 (Columbia, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29229 has a population of 44,229 at 831 people per square mile, while ZIP 29223 has 50,141 at 759 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 29229 reports a median household income of $74,043 against $62,408 in ZIP 29223, with per-capita income of $36,844 vs $35,907. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.9% in 29229 and 34.0% in 29223. Poverty rate reads 12.9% vs 15.9%, and unemployment 6.4% 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 $247,400 in 29229 versus $202,900 in 29223, with median rent of $1,640 and $1,277 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.1% vs 57.6%. 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.