ZIP 46186 vs ZIP 46117

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46186 (Wilkinson, IN) and ZIP 46117 (Charlottesville, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46186 has a population of 1,753 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 46117 has 671 at 22 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 46186 reports a median household income of $70,714 against $91,250 in ZIP 46117, with per-capita income of $40,921 vs $39,001. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.9% in 46186 and 34.1% in 46117. Poverty rate reads 12.0% vs 3.2%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 0.0% — 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 $287,700 in 46186 versus $229,300 in 46117, with median rent of $485 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.0% vs 88.5%. 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.