ZIP 46962 vs ZIP 46943

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46962 (North Manchester, IN) and ZIP 46943 (Laketon, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46962 has a population of 9,728 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 46943 has 247 at 284 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 46962 reports a median household income of $67,984 against $33,750 in ZIP 46943, with per-capita income of $34,823 vs $25,277. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.3% in 46962 and 0.0% in 46943. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $159,600 in 46962 versus $99,500 in 46943, with median rent of $685 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.6% vs 76.1%. 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.