ZIP 44866 vs ZIP 44287

This side-by-side compares ZIP 44866 (Polk, OH) and ZIP 44287 (West Salem, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 44866 has a population of 2,259 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 44287 has 7,559 at 44 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 44866 reports a median household income of $70,208 against $73,816 in ZIP 44287, with per-capita income of $23,747 vs $28,902. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.5% in 44866 and 18.9% in 44287. Poverty rate reads 32.4% vs 17.3%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 6.0% — 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 $193,600 in 44866 versus $194,500 in 44287, with median rent of $725 and $848 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.5% vs 84.8%. 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.