ZIP 29676 vs ZIP 29686

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29676 (Salem, SC) and ZIP 29686 (Tamassee, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29676 has a population of 5,201 at 28 people per square mile, while ZIP 29686 has 1,027 at 13 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 29676 reports a median household income of $92,798 against $58,313 in ZIP 29686, with per-capita income of $64,527 vs $29,910. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.4% in 29676 and 18.9% in 29686. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 19.7%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 10.5% — 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 $416,800 in 29676 versus $332,500 in 29686, with median rent of $940 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.6% vs 83.2%. 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.