ZIP 59254 vs ZIP 59275

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59254 (Plentywood, MT) and ZIP 59275 (Westby, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59254 has a population of 2,026 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 59275 has 376 at 0 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 59254 reports a median household income of $68,750 against $49,141 in ZIP 59275, with per-capita income of $39,834 vs $45,174. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.2% in 59254 and 20.5% in 59275. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 3.1% 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 $164,400 in 59254 versus $83,300 in 59275, with median rent of $750 and $367 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 90.9%. 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.