ZIP 46163 vs ZIP 46239

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46163 (New Palestine, IN) and ZIP 46239 (Indianapolis, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46163 has a population of 11,963 at 157 people per square mile, while ZIP 46239 has 25,345 at 337 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 46163 reports a median household income of $113,106 against $100,331 in ZIP 46239, with per-capita income of $56,673 vs $37,174. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.1% in 46163 and 38.0% in 46239. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 2.0% 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 $347,800 in 46163 versus $275,400 in 46239, with median rent of $1,060 and $1,517 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.4% vs 82.4%. 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.