ZIP 46038 vs ZIP 46256

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46038 (Fishers, IN) and ZIP 46256 (Indianapolis, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46038 has a population of 37,723 at 922 people per square mile, while ZIP 46256 has 23,647 at 816 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 46038 reports a median household income of $106,886 against $93,847 in ZIP 46256, with per-capita income of $50,907 vs $52,277. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 61.4% in 46038 and 57.3% in 46256. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 2.3% — 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 $333,200 in 46038 versus $318,200 in 46256, with median rent of $1,575 and $1,175 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.1% vs 73.0%. 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.