ZIP 30553 vs ZIP 30530

This side-by-side compares ZIP 30553 (Lavonia, GA) and ZIP 30530 (Commerce, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 30553 has a population of 7,232 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 30530 has 6,752 at 33 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 30553 reports a median household income of $52,833 against $55,392 in ZIP 30530, with per-capita income of $27,583 vs $31,971. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.1% in 30553 and 12.4% in 30530. Poverty rate reads 17.8% vs 23.2%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 1.9% — 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 $207,900 in 30553 versus $274,800 in 30530, with median rent of $882 and $993 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.7% vs 64.8%. 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.