ZIP 46986 vs ZIP 46987

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46986 (Swayzee, IN) and ZIP 46987 (Sweetser, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46986 has a population of 1,915 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 46987 has 776 at 548 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 46986 reports a median household income of $79,438 against $80,893 in ZIP 46987, with per-capita income of $42,569 vs $34,353. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 46986 and 29.1% in 46987. Poverty rate reads 6.6% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 0.7% — 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 $162,600 in 46986 versus $152,500 in 46987, with median rent of $925 and $1,063 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.4% vs 80.4%. 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.