ZIP 29686 vs ZIP 29676

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