ZIP 46074 vs ZIP 46032

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46074 (Westfield, IN) and ZIP 46032 (Carmel, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46074 has a population of 26,745 at 286 people per square mile, while ZIP 46032 has 42,234 at 632 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 46074 reports a median household income of $126,724 against $132,085 in ZIP 46032, with per-capita income of $58,555 vs $78,612. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.1% in 46074 and 75.5% in 46032. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 3.1% 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 $437,100 in 46074 versus $496,800 in 46032, with median rent of $1,690 and $1,642 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 66.5%. 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.