ZIP 46938 vs ZIP 46953

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46938 (Jonesboro, IN) and ZIP 46953 (Marion, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46938 has a population of 3,200 at 40 people per square mile, while ZIP 46953 has 24,177 at 110 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 46938 reports a median household income of $45,884 against $46,288 in ZIP 46953, with per-capita income of $31,033 vs $23,357. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.1% in 46938 and 17.1% in 46953. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 28.0%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 8.7% — 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 $98,800 in 46938 versus $89,200 in 46953, with median rent of $1,020 and $835 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.1% vs 67.8%. 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.