ZIP 40109 vs ZIP 40118

This side-by-side compares ZIP 40109 (Brooks, KY) and ZIP 40118 (Fairdale, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 40109 has a population of 1,990 at 82 people per square mile, while ZIP 40118 has 9,724 at 274 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 40109 reports a median household income of $75,495 against $59,316 in ZIP 40118, with per-capita income of $41,469 vs $28,132. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.5% in 40109 and 15.9% in 40118. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 21.6%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 4.9% — 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 $262,400 in 40109 versus $156,800 in 40118, with median rent of — and $1,124 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 98.0% vs 66.5%. 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.