ZIP 46377 vs ZIP 46381

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46377 (Shelby, IN) and ZIP 46381 (Thayer, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46377 has a population of 386 at 248 people per square mile, while ZIP 46381 has 235 at 99 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 46377 reports a median household income of $38,958 against $64,821 in ZIP 46381, with per-capita income of $37,704 vs $37,400. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 46377 and 20.8% in 46381. Poverty rate reads 26.7% vs 31.1%, and unemployment — vs 15.2% — 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 — in 46377 versus — in 46381, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.0% vs 72.3%. 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.