ZIP 32162 vs ZIP 34785

This side-by-side compares ZIP 32162 (The Villages, FL) and ZIP 34785 (Wildwood, FL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 32162 has a population of 45,180 at 751 people per square mile, while ZIP 34785 has 17,406 at 88 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 32162 reports a median household income of $74,119 against $66,136 in ZIP 34785, with per-capita income of $54,530 vs $39,891. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.8% in 32162 and 25.9% in 34785. Poverty rate reads 5.0% vs 13.9%, and unemployment 7.0% vs 6.3% — 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 $382,700 in 32162 versus $387,600 in 34785, with median rent of $1,402 and $1,217 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.9% vs 73.3%. 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.