ZIP 34997 vs ZIP 34990

This side-by-side compares ZIP 34997 (Stuart, FL) and ZIP 34990 (Palm City, FL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 34997 has a population of 40,405 at 159 people per square mile, while ZIP 34990 has 27,707 at 116 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 34997 reports a median household income of $78,136 against $129,560 in ZIP 34990, with per-capita income of $45,603 vs $68,503. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.6% in 34997 and 47.7% in 34990. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 4.3% — 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 $378,900 in 34997 versus $592,400 in 34990, with median rent of $1,600 and $2,015 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.9% vs 90.8%. 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.