ZIP 46617 vs ZIP 46601

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46617 (South Bend, IN) and ZIP 46601 (South Bend, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46617 has a population of 9,601 at 1,428 people per square mile, while ZIP 46601 has 6,090 at 1,083 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 46617 reports a median household income of $74,186 against $30,789 in ZIP 46601, with per-capita income of $55,838 vs $24,558. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.3% in 46617 and 23.5% in 46601. Poverty rate reads 16.6% vs 35.2%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 13.0% — 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 $243,400 in 46617 versus $145,000 in 46601, with median rent of $1,479 and $866 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.6% vs 24.3%. 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.