ZIP 46561 vs ZIP 46545

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46561 (Osceola, IN) and ZIP 46545 (Mishawaka, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46561 has a population of 13,343 at 356 people per square mile, while ZIP 46545 has 25,082 at 543 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 46561 reports a median household income of $91,711 against $56,865 in ZIP 46545, with per-capita income of $37,573 vs $34,307. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.3% in 46561 and 32.5% in 46545. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 14.3%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 4.9% — 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 $230,600 in 46561 versus $177,900 in 46545, with median rent of $1,199 and $1,027 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.5% vs 52.7%. 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.