ZIP 46706 vs ZIP 46738

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46706 (Auburn, IN) and ZIP 46738 (Garrett, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46706 has a population of 18,630 at 83 people per square mile, while ZIP 46738 has 7,918 at 117 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 46706 reports a median household income of $80,965 against $57,545 in ZIP 46738, with per-capita income of $39,704 vs $30,649. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.0% in 46706 and 15.9% in 46738. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 14.6%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 4.2% — 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 $219,100 in 46706 versus $164,200 in 46738, with median rent of $858 and $879 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.5% vs 81.1%. 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.