ZIP 46403 vs ZIP 46405

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46403 (Gary, 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 46403 has a population of 12,601 at 588 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 46403 reports a median household income of $45,991 against $60,881 in ZIP 46405, with per-capita income of $32,932 vs $27,763. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.2% in 46403 and 7.8% in 46405. Poverty rate reads 24.3% vs 12.2%, and unemployment 11.4% 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 $177,600 in 46403 versus $139,200 in 46405, with median rent of $966 and $1,144 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.8% 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.