ZIP 46254 vs ZIP 46224

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46254 (Indianapolis, IN) and ZIP 46224 (Indianapolis, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46254 has a population of 38,095 at 1,075 people per square mile, while ZIP 46224 has 35,094 at 1,887 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 46254 reports a median household income of $60,287 against $55,986 in ZIP 46224, with per-capita income of $34,795 vs $27,918. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.3% in 46254 and 23.9% in 46224. Poverty rate reads 18.7% vs 16.9%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 4.9% — 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 $186,300 in 46254 versus $181,600 in 46224, with median rent of $1,067 and $1,095 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.5% vs 36.3%. 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.