ZIP 46393 vs ZIP 46342

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46393 (Wheeler, IN) and ZIP 46342 (Hobart, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46393 has a population of 399 at 103 people per square mile, while ZIP 46342 has 31,244 at 343 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 46393 reports a median household income of $56,250 against $75,521 in ZIP 46342, with per-capita income of $29,700 vs $36,214. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.8% in 46393 and 20.5% in 46342. Poverty rate reads 9.3% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.3% — 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 $143,600 in 46393 versus $213,000 in 46342, with median rent of — and $1,132 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.2% vs 74.1%. 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.