ZIP 31216 vs ZIP 31206

This side-by-side compares ZIP 31216 (Macon, GA) and ZIP 31206 (Macon, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 31216 has a population of 16,109 at 113 people per square mile, while ZIP 31206 has 29,072 at 402 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 31216 reports a median household income of $72,452 against $30,042 in ZIP 31206, with per-capita income of $34,545 vs $17,032. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.8% in 31216 and 8.2% in 31206. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 37.5%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 14.0% — 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 $212,300 in 31216 versus $90,200 in 31206, with median rent of $1,041 and $923 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.1% vs 43.5%. 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.