ZIP 45843 vs ZIP 45836

This side-by-side compares ZIP 45843 (Forest, OH) and ZIP 45836 (Dunkirk, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 45843 has a population of 3,701 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 45836 has 1,479 at 24 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 45843 reports a median household income of $71,541 against $56,250 in ZIP 45836, with per-capita income of $34,166 vs $30,044. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.5% in 45843 and 12.7% in 45836. Poverty rate reads 13.3% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 2.9% — 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 $176,200 in 45843 versus $119,700 in 45836, with median rent of $920 and $814 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 81.2%. 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.