ZIP 46407 vs ZIP 46402

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46407 (Gary, IN) and ZIP 46402 (Gary, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46407 has a population of 12,656 at 1,155 people per square mile, while ZIP 46402 has 6,726 at 682 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 46407 reports a median household income of $28,526 against $33,529 in ZIP 46402, with per-capita income of $23,147 vs $19,741. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.9% in 46407 and 10.7% in 46402. Poverty rate reads 39.1% vs 44.7%, and unemployment 10.6% vs 14.2% — 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 $60,200 in 46407 versus $85,400 in 46402, with median rent of $868 and $951 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 41.2% vs 43.4%. 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.