ZIP 44203 vs ZIP 44224

This side-by-side compares ZIP 44203 (Barberton, OH) and ZIP 44224 (Stow, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 44203 has a population of 41,248 at 455 people per square mile, while ZIP 44224 has 38,742 at 751 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 44203 reports a median household income of $63,759 against $94,287 in ZIP 44224, with per-capita income of $36,138 vs $47,290. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 44203 and 47.9% in 44224. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 3.6% — 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 $159,700 in 44203 versus $254,500 in 44224, with median rent of $869 and $1,183 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.7% vs 69.1%. 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.