ZIP 59006 vs ZIP 59037

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59006 (Ballantine, MT) and ZIP 59037 (Huntley, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59006 has a population of 926 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 59037 has 1,672 at 3 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 59006 reports a median household income of $53,304 against $105,099 in ZIP 59037, with per-capita income of $39,956 vs $46,310. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.2% in 59006 and 25.5% in 59037. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.1% — 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 $314,300 in 59006 versus $354,100 in 59037, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.1% vs 91.6%. 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.