ZIP 40988 vs ZIP 40845

This side-by-side compares ZIP 40988 (Stoney Fork, KY) and ZIP 40845 (Hulen, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 40988 has a population of 555 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 40845 has 635 at 28 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 40988 reports a median household income of $38,125 against $23,450 in ZIP 40845, with per-capita income of $16,840 vs $9,067. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.7% in 40988 and 1.0% in 40845. Poverty rate reads 19.8% vs 59.0%, and unemployment 8.6% vs 14.6% — 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 — in 40988 versus $66,000 in 40845, with median rent of — and $846 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 98.3% vs 61.0%. 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.