ZIP 59404 vs ZIP 59414

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59404 (Great Falls, MT) and ZIP 59414 (Black Eagle, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59404 has a population of 26,867 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 59414 has 904 at 210 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 59404 reports a median household income of $83,867 against $69,545 in ZIP 59414, with per-capita income of $41,564 vs $35,603. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.8% in 59404 and 15.9% in 59414. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 31.4%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 1.8% — 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 $295,700 in 59404 versus $190,400 in 59414, with median rent of $1,176 and $1,182 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.9% vs 74.8%. 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.