ZIP 42036 vs ZIP 42048

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42036 (Dexter, KY) and ZIP 42048 (Hardin, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42036 has a population of 1,167 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 42048 has 2,147 at 32 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 42036 reports a median household income of $97,904 against $55,714 in ZIP 42048, with per-capita income of $40,308 vs $25,203. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.4% in 42036 and 24.1% in 42048. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 26.9%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 0.9% — 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 $119,500 in 42036 versus $138,800 in 42048, with median rent of — and $803 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.1% vs 79.3%. 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.