ZIP 44074 vs ZIP 44049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 44074 (Oberlin, OH) and ZIP 44049 (Kipton, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 44074 has a population of 11,679 at 91 people per square mile, while ZIP 44049 has 238 at 257 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 44074 reports a median household income of $80,801 against $68,929 in ZIP 44049, with per-capita income of $37,175 vs $32,828. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.7% in 44074 and 13.9% in 44049. Poverty rate reads 11.9% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 1.7% — 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 $234,200 in 44074 versus $139,600 in 44049, with median rent of $964 and $950 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 69.4%. 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.