ZIP 46157 vs ZIP 46118

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