ZIP 29301 vs ZIP 29320

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29301 (Spartanburg, SC) and ZIP 29320 (Arcadia, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29301 has a population of 31,051 at 438 people per square mile, while ZIP 29320 has 530 at 377 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 29301 reports a median household income of $57,805 against $54,353 in ZIP 29320, with per-capita income of $32,137 vs $21,306. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.0% in 29301 and 33.7% in 29320. Poverty rate reads 18.5% vs 23.1%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 13.0% — 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 $212,000 in 29301 versus $168,800 in 29320, with median rent of $1,178 and $1,637 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.8% vs 42.0%. 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.