ZIP 45050 vs ZIP 45044

This side-by-side compares ZIP 45050 (Monroe, OH) and ZIP 45044 (Middletown, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 45050 has a population of 8,548 at 443 people per square mile, while ZIP 45044 has 52,822 at 537 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 45050 reports a median household income of $104,282 against $73,732 in ZIP 45044, with per-capita income of $40,243 vs $37,640. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.0% in 45050 and 29.8% in 45044. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 13.6%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 5.4% — 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 $293,100 in 45050 versus $241,600 in 45044, with median rent of $1,590 and $1,076 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.0% vs 61.9%. 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.