ZIP 29556 vs ZIP 29554

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29556 (Kingstree, SC) and ZIP 29554 (Hemingway, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29556 has a population of 12,870 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 29554 has 9,332 at 16 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 29556 reports a median household income of $42,365 against $55,100 in ZIP 29554, with per-capita income of $28,167 vs $27,981. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.9% in 29556 and 16.6% in 29554. Poverty rate reads 22.5% vs 20.2%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 5.2% — 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 $107,900 in 29556 versus $156,700 in 29554, with median rent of $597 and $871 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.6% vs 75.3%. 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.