ZIP 45040 vs ZIP 45036

This side-by-side compares ZIP 45040 (Mason, OH) and ZIP 45036 (Lebanon, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 45040 has a population of 50,627 at 696 people per square mile, while ZIP 45036 has 37,504 at 178 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 45040 reports a median household income of $133,240 against $99,128 in ZIP 45036, with per-capita income of $66,545 vs $47,072. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 63.0% in 45040 and 33.6% in 45036. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 6.5%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 1.6% — 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 $440,000 in 45040 versus $352,200 in 45036, with median rent of $1,811 and $1,140 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.7% vs 72.9%. 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.