ZIP 46304 vs ZIP 46301

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46304 (Chesterton, IN) and ZIP 46301 (Beverly Shores, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46304 has a population of 24,207 at 174 people per square mile, while ZIP 46301 has 669 at 77 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 46304 reports a median household income of $91,326 against $119,948 in ZIP 46301, with per-capita income of $46,916 vs $88,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.3% in 46304 and 74.5% in 46301. Poverty rate reads 9.2% vs 5.1%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 5.7% — 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 $293,100 in 46304 versus $606,900 in 46301, with median rent of $1,223 and $1,675 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.4% vs 96.3%. 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.