ZIP 45377 vs ZIP 45414

This side-by-side compares ZIP 45377 (Vandalia, OH) and ZIP 45414 (Dayton, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 45377 has a population of 15,215 at 266 people per square mile, while ZIP 45414 has 21,055 at 358 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 45377 reports a median household income of $77,398 against $54,485 in ZIP 45414, with per-capita income of $42,172 vs $36,803. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.3% in 45377 and 23.7% in 45414. Poverty rate reads 7.6% vs 19.5%, and unemployment 3.1% 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 $202,800 in 45377 versus $182,300 in 45414, with median rent of $898 and $904 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.9% vs 69.7%. 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.