ZIP 59474 vs ZIP 59482

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59474 (Shelby, MT) and ZIP 59482 (Sunburst, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59474 has a population of 3,820 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 59482 has 802 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 59474 reports a median household income of $57,846 against $92,500 in ZIP 59482, with per-capita income of $31,752 vs $26,100. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 59474 and 35.5% in 59482. Poverty rate reads 12.8% vs 5.8%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 16.1% — 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 $233,100 in 59474 versus $164,500 in 59482, with median rent of $892 and $1,094 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.1% vs 78.8%. 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.