ZIP 42254 vs ZIP 42236

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