ZIP 47260 vs ZIP 47281

This side-by-side compares ZIP 47260 (Medora, IN) and ZIP 47281 (Vallonia, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 47260 has a population of 1,911 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 47281 has 1,324 at 9 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 47260 reports a median household income of $73,370 against $96,250 in ZIP 47281, with per-capita income of $29,950 vs $35,585. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.8% in 47260 and 25.3% in 47281. Poverty rate reads 6.0% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 1.2% 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 $96,500 in 47260 versus $182,600 in 47281, with median rent of $894 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.4% vs 84.0%. 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.