ZIP 29374 vs ZIP 29302

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29374 (Pauline, SC) and ZIP 29302 (Spartanburg, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29374 has a population of 3,534 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 29302 has 16,571 at 129 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 29374 reports a median household income of $78,397 against $80,819 in ZIP 29302, with per-capita income of $36,293 vs $45,011. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 29374 and 39.5% in 29302. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 13.2%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 4.2% — 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 $247,000 in 29374 versus $285,400 in 29302, with median rent of $848 and $1,080 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.8% vs 70.9%. 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.