ZIP 44677 vs ZIP 44276

This side-by-side compares ZIP 44677 (Smithville, OH) and ZIP 44276 (Sterling, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 44677 has a population of 2,543 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 44276 has 1,906 at 39 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 44677 reports a median household income of $75,435 against $86,583 in ZIP 44276, with per-capita income of $40,722 vs $34,344. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.9% in 44677 and 19.2% in 44276. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 12.0%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 1.4% — 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 $230,600 in 44677 versus $231,300 in 44276, with median rent of $853 and $878 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.7% vs 86.3%. 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.