ZIP 46217 vs ZIP 46221

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46217 (Indianapolis, IN) and ZIP 46221 (Indianapolis, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46217 has a population of 29,358 at 529 people per square mile, while ZIP 46221 has 26,393 at 511 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 46217 reports a median household income of $92,029 against $65,280 in ZIP 46221, with per-capita income of $42,070 vs $29,663. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.2% in 46217 and 16.0% in 46221. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 18.4%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 6.1% — 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 $244,000 in 46217 versus $191,300 in 46221, with median rent of $1,324 and $1,137 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.5% vs 61.8%. 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.