ZIP 43302 vs ZIP 43342

This side-by-side compares ZIP 43302 (Marion, OH) and ZIP 43342 (Prospect, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 43302 has a population of 54,790 at 108 people per square mile, while ZIP 43342 has 3,228 at 29 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 43302 reports a median household income of $55,057 against $84,803 in ZIP 43342, with per-capita income of $28,568 vs $45,577. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.9% in 43302 and 24.4% in 43342. Poverty rate reads 17.6% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 7.4% vs 1.6% — 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 $154,200 in 43302 versus $176,100 in 43342, with median rent of $865 and $950 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.4% vs 88.2%. 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.