ZIP 45860 vs ZIP 45826

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