ZIP 29849 vs ZIP 29843

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29849 (Ulmer, SC) and ZIP 29843 (Olar, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29849 has a population of 294 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 29843 has 1,291 at 8 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 29849 reports a median household income of $89,583 against $35,986 in ZIP 29843, with per-capita income of $33,175 vs $21,690. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.2% in 29849 and 9.1% in 29843. Poverty rate reads 1.8% vs 23.1%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 14.1% — 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 $161,100 in 29849 versus $77,700 in 29843, with median rent of $1,656 and $896 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.2% vs 90.8%. 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.