ZIP 47446 vs ZIP 47421

This side-by-side compares ZIP 47446 (Mitchell, IN) and ZIP 47421 (Bedford, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 47446 has a population of 9,990 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 47421 has 27,831 at 59 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 47446 reports a median household income of $50,337 against $68,108 in ZIP 47421, with per-capita income of $27,902 vs $38,096. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.6% in 47446 and 22.2% in 47421. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 11.6%, and unemployment 8.9% vs 1.9% — 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 $146,000 in 47446 versus $188,100 in 47421, with median rent of $880 and $835 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.0% vs 80.0%. 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.