ZIP 46793 vs ZIP 46705

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46793 (Waterloo, IN) and ZIP 46705 (Ashley, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46793 has a population of 4,292 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 46705 has 1,583 at 31 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 46793 reports a median household income of $79,949 against $67,266 in ZIP 46705, with per-capita income of $36,852 vs $41,954. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.3% in 46793 and 17.8% in 46705. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 1.5% — 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 $184,100 in 46793 versus $159,700 in 46705, with median rent of $846 and $852 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.9% vs 73.8%. 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.