ZIP 46742 vs ZIP 46721

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46742 (Hamilton, IN) and ZIP 46721 (Butler, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46742 has a population of 3,488 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 46721 has 5,058 at 24 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 46742 reports a median household income of $78,750 against $68,580 in ZIP 46721, with per-capita income of $45,431 vs $31,902. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.9% in 46742 and 15.2% in 46721. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 13.5%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 1.3% — 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 $250,500 in 46742 versus $138,800 in 46721, with median rent of $968 and $804 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.6% vs 83.4%. 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.