ZIP 42320 vs ZIP 42347

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42320 (Beaver Dam, KY) and ZIP 42347 (Hartford, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42320 has a population of 8,205 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 42347 has 6,152 at 19 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 42320 reports a median household income of $54,730 against $60,900 in ZIP 42347, with per-capita income of $29,177 vs $28,575. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.0% in 42320 and 17.4% in 42347. Poverty rate reads 14.4% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 8.2% vs 2.1% — 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 $150,200 in 42320 versus $134,500 in 42347, with median rent of $745 and $586 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.7% vs 71.5%. 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.