ZIP 46342 vs ZIP 46405

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46342 (Hobart, IN) and ZIP 46405 (Lake Station, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46342 has a population of 31,244 at 343 people per square mile, while ZIP 46405 has 11,746 at 522 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 46342 reports a median household income of $75,521 against $60,881 in ZIP 46405, with per-capita income of $36,214 vs $27,763. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.5% in 46342 and 7.8% in 46405. Poverty rate reads 11.2% vs 12.2%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 16.3% — 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 $213,000 in 46342 versus $139,200 in 46405, with median rent of $1,132 and $1,144 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.1% vs 75.3%. 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.