ZIP 45826 vs ZIP 45860

This side-by-side compares ZIP 45826 (Chickasaw, OH) and ZIP 45860 (Maria Stein, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 45826 has a population of 306 at 438 people per square mile, while ZIP 45860 has 2,274 at 25 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 45826 reports a median household income of $101,250 against $111,269 in ZIP 45860, with per-capita income of $36,256 vs $42,643. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.2% in 45826 and 28.1% in 45860. Poverty rate reads 1.3% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $296,900 in 45826 versus $296,000 in 45860, with median rent of $900 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.3% vs 91.5%. 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.