ZIP 46118 vs ZIP 46157

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46118 (Clayton, IN) and ZIP 46157 (Monrovia, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46118 has a population of 5,015 at 36 people per square mile, while ZIP 46157 has 3,639 at 44 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 46118 reports a median household income of $78,298 against $86,250 in ZIP 46157, with per-capita income of $36,101 vs $35,815. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.9% in 46118 and 21.4% in 46157. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 13.4%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 6.2% — 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 $276,900 in 46118 versus $234,100 in 46157, with median rent of $982 and $821 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.8% vs 89.9%. 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.