ZIP 29840 vs ZIP 29628

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29840 (Mount Carmel, SC) and ZIP 29628 (Calhoun Falls, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29840 has a population of 251 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 29628 has 2,759 at 21 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 29840 reports a median household income of $43,504 against $39,444 in ZIP 29628, with per-capita income of $18,418 vs $26,377. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 29840 and 11.3% in 29628. Poverty rate reads 33.3% vs 14.3%, and unemployment 23.1% vs 2.2% — 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 $93,400 in 29840 versus $91,100 in 29628, with median rent of — and $605 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 68.9%. 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.