ZIP 59601 vs ZIP 59636

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59601 (Helena, MT) and ZIP 59636 (Fort Harrison, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59601 has a population of 29,283 at 82 people per square mile, while ZIP 59636 has 12 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 59601 reports a median household income of $72,290 against — in ZIP 59636, with per-capita income of $47,533 vs $27,347. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.9% in 59601 and 0.0% in 59636. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 0.0% — 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 $386,500 in 59601 versus — in 59636, with median rent of $1,046 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 55.8% vs 0.0%. 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.