ZIP 43157 vs ZIP 43046

This side-by-side compares ZIP 43157 (Thurston, OH) and ZIP 43046 (Millersport, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 43157 has a population of 610 at 683 people per square mile, while ZIP 43046 has 3,396 at 52 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 43157 reports a median household income of $62,188 against $86,864 in ZIP 43046, with per-capita income of $21,554 vs $47,984. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.4% in 43157 and 22.9% in 43046. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 5.0% — 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 $157,500 in 43157 versus $281,300 in 43046, with median rent of $1,161 and $1,030 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.2% vs 76.4%. 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.