ZIP 46201 vs ZIP 46218

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46201 (Indianapolis, IN) and ZIP 46218 (Indianapolis, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46201 has a population of 30,962 at 2,140 people per square mile, while ZIP 46218 has 29,028 at 1,189 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 46201 reports a median household income of $49,195 against $38,063 in ZIP 46218, with per-capita income of $31,273 vs $22,785. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.9% in 46201 and 11.8% in 46218. Poverty rate reads 26.3% vs 31.0%, and unemployment 7.9% vs 10.5% — 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 $170,100 in 46201 versus $103,100 in 46218, with median rent of $941 and $1,094 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.6% vs 52.8%. 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.