ZIP 45850 vs ZIP 45854

This side-by-side compares ZIP 45850 (Harrod, OH) and ZIP 45854 (Lafayette, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 45850 has a population of 3,653 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 45854 has 498 at 586 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 45850 reports a median household income of $84,886 against $53,125 in ZIP 45854, with per-capita income of $41,315 vs $29,202. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.0% in 45850 and 7.8% in 45854. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 6.6% vs 12.9% — 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 $193,900 in 45850 versus $121,300 in 45854, with median rent of $1,129 and $647 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.0% vs 77.6%. 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.