ZIP 29826 vs ZIP 29853

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29826 (Elko, SC) and ZIP 29853 (Williston, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29826 has a population of 164 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 29853 has 6,580 at 23 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 29826 reports a median household income of — against $44,983 in ZIP 29853, with per-capita income of $17,898 vs $27,188. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 3.7% in 29826 and 14.2% in 29853. Poverty rate reads 17.4% vs 24.8%, and unemployment 55.6% vs 6.6% — 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 $78,600 in 29826 versus $107,100 in 29853, with median rent of $1,643 and $684 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 67.5%. 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.