ZIP 42236 vs ZIP 42254

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42236 (Herndon, KY) and ZIP 42254 (La Fayette, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42236 has a population of 929 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 42254 has 209 at 16 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 42236 reports a median household income of $68,819 against $47,250 in ZIP 42254, with per-capita income of $29,946 vs $30,729. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.0% in 42236 and 16.2% in 42254. Poverty rate reads 1.9% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 5.2% — 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 $118,000 in 42236 versus $99,000 in 42254, with median rent of $864 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.1% vs 76.1%. 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.