ZIP 29620 vs ZIP 29638

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29620 (Abbeville, SC) and ZIP 29638 (Donalds, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29620 has a population of 12,934 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 29638 has 2,944 at 19 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 29620 reports a median household income of $53,288 against $65,000 in ZIP 29638, with per-capita income of $32,369 vs $29,150. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.9% in 29620 and 26.4% in 29638. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 5.0% — 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 $207,900 in 29620 versus $157,700 in 29638, with median rent of $595 and $900 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.9% vs 81.9%. 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.