ZIP 57243 vs ZIP 57242

This side-by-side compares ZIP 57243 (Henry, SD) and ZIP 57242 (Hazel, SD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 57243 has a population of 604 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 57242 has 432 at 2 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 57243 reports a median household income of $48,542 against $113,958 in ZIP 57242, with per-capita income of $35,052 vs $33,848. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.5% in 57243 and 24.3% in 57242. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 2.2%, 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 $117,500 in 57243 versus $177,100 in 57242, with median rent of $1,083 and $681 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.5% vs 89.2%. 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.