ZIP 43502 vs ZIP 43553

This side-by-side compares ZIP 43502 (Archbold, OH) and ZIP 43553 (Pettisville, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 43502 has a population of 6,933 at 39 people per square mile, while ZIP 43553 has 252 at 594 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 43502 reports a median household income of $74,925 against $88,750 in ZIP 43553, with per-capita income of $38,890 vs $31,471. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 43502 and 25.8% in 43553. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 3.4% — 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 $203,300 in 43502 versus $163,500 in 43553, with median rent of $763 and $918 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.4% vs 72.8%. 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.