ZIP 59417 vs ZIP 59427

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59417 (Browning, MT) and ZIP 59427 (Cut Bank, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59417 has a population of 7,719 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 59427 has 4,757 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 59417 reports a median household income of $37,676 against $61,094 in ZIP 59427, with per-capita income of $19,713 vs $27,721. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.0% in 59417 and 15.0% in 59427. Poverty rate reads 38.2% vs 23.2%, and unemployment 13.3% vs 4.2% — 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 $150,000 in 59417 versus $174,300 in 59427, with median rent of $474 and $953 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.5% vs 70.8%. 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.