ZIP 43311 vs ZIP 43357

This side-by-side compares ZIP 43311 (Bellefontaine, OH) and ZIP 43357 (West Liberty, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 43311 has a population of 19,240 at 73 people per square mile, while ZIP 43357 has 4,763 at 27 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 43311 reports a median household income of $67,914 against $92,448 in ZIP 43357, with per-capita income of $34,814 vs $36,754. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.3% in 43311 and 28.0% in 43357. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 1.3% — 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 $207,600 in 43311 versus $235,300 in 43357, with median rent of $850 and $706 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.4% vs 78.8%. 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.