ZIP 46385 vs ZIP 46393

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46385 (Valparaiso, 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 46385 has a population of 38,866 at 185 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 46385 reports a median household income of $98,957 against $56,250 in ZIP 46393, with per-capita income of $49,898 vs $29,700. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.1% in 46385 and 8.8% in 46393. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 3.4% 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 $331,700 in 46385 versus $143,600 in 46393, with median rent of $1,346 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% 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.