ZIP 42748 vs ZIP 42716

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42748 (Hodgenville, KY) and ZIP 42716 (Buffalo, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42748 has a population of 8,706 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 42716 has 1,582 at 17 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 42748 reports a median household income of $65,691 against $72,125 in ZIP 42716, with per-capita income of $28,528 vs $31,211. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.8% in 42748 and 13.6% in 42716. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 1.5% — 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 $186,500 in 42748 versus $188,800 in 42716, with median rent of $784 and $1,114 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.7% vs 89.8%. 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.