ZIP 42122 vs ZIP 42104

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42122 (Alvaton, 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 42122 has a population of 4,368 at 45 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 42122 reports a median household income of $113,705 against $75,164 in ZIP 42104, with per-capita income of $45,915 vs $38,032. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.7% in 42122 and 40.8% in 42104. Poverty rate reads 4.6% 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 $297,100 in 42122 versus $306,400 in 42104, with median rent of $1,013 and $1,029 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.9% 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.