ZIP 46368 vs ZIP 46393

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46368 (Portage, IN) and ZIP 46393 (Wheeler, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46368 has a population of 38,691 at 570 people per square mile, while ZIP 46393 has 399 at 103 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 46368 reports a median household income of $76,368 against $56,250 in ZIP 46393, with per-capita income of $37,176 vs $29,700. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.8% in 46368 and 8.8% in 46393. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 0.0% — 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 $227,100 in 46368 versus $143,600 in 46393, with median rent of $1,241 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.4% vs 89.2%. 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.