ZIP 43926 vs ZIP 43961

This side-by-side compares ZIP 43926 (Empire, OH) and ZIP 43961 (Stratton, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 43926 has a population of 285 at 465 people per square mile, while ZIP 43961 has 294 at 278 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 43926 reports a median household income of $45,938 against $39,500 in ZIP 43961, with per-capita income of $37,509 vs $29,283. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.1% in 43926 and 13.2% in 43961. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 24.4%, and unemployment 7.6% vs 10.7% — 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 — in 43926 versus $60,700 in 43961, with median rent of $757 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.7% vs 80.7%. 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.