ZIP 59242 vs ZIP 59247

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59242 (Homestead, MT) and ZIP 59247 (Medicine Lake, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59242 has a population of 79 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 59247 has 314 at 1 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 59242 reports a median household income of $128,750 against $73,750 in ZIP 59247, with per-capita income of $71,549 vs $49,053. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.0% in 59242 and 22.0% in 59247. Poverty rate reads 3.6% vs 9.8%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.7% — 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 $154,200 in 59242 versus $110,400 in 59247, with median rent of — and $732 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.5% vs 67.7%. 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.