ZIP 31808 vs ZIP 31904

This side-by-side compares ZIP 31808 (Fortson, GA) and ZIP 31904 (Columbus, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 31808 has a population of 6,679 at 50 people per square mile, while ZIP 31904 has 32,871 at 440 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 31808 reports a median household income of $109,294 against $66,291 in ZIP 31904, with per-capita income of $49,416 vs $40,675. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.2% in 31808 and 32.0% in 31904. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 20.1%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 5.9% - 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 $291,700 in 31808 versus $226,000 in 31904, with median rent of $1,520 and $1,094 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.4% vs 51.8%. 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.