ZIP 31543 vs ZIP 31566

This side-by-side compares ZIP 31543 (Hortense, GA) and ZIP 31566 (Waynesville, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 31543 has a population of 4,796 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 31566 has 3,471 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 31543 reports a median household income of $50,181 against $60,703 in ZIP 31566, with per-capita income of $29,496 vs $25,555. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.9% in 31543 and 7.4% in 31566. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 33.9%, and unemployment 7.4% 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 $81,900 in 31543 versus $153,000 in 31566, with median rent of - and $756 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.9% vs 73.7%. 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.