ZIP 42101 vs ZIP 42104

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42101 (Bowling Green, KY) and ZIP 42104 (Bowling Green, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42101 has a population of 55,648 at 76 people per square mile, while ZIP 42104 has 29,610 at 204 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 42101 reports a median household income of $48,217 against $75,164 in ZIP 42104, with per-capita income of $24,219 vs $38,032. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.3% in 42101 and 40.8% in 42104. Poverty rate reads 25.2% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 5.5% — 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 $207,200 in 42101 versus $306,400 in 42104, with median rent of $950 and $1,029 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 44.7% vs 61.7%. 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.