ZIP 46406 vs ZIP 46404

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46406 (Gary, IN) and ZIP 46404 (Gary, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46406 has a population of 9,900 at 297 people per square mile, while ZIP 46404 has 17,326 at 1,170 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 46406 reports a median household income of $35,839 against $42,256 in ZIP 46404, with per-capita income of $18,916 vs $22,178. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.8% in 46406 and 15.4% in 46404. Poverty rate reads 36.7% vs 28.4%, and unemployment 10.6% vs 8.1% — 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 $91,700 in 46406 versus $95,200 in 46404, with median rent of $995 and $999 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.0% vs 56.4%. 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.