ZIP 59638 vs ZIP 59634

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59638 (Jefferson City, MT) and ZIP 59634 (Clancy, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59638 has a population of 617 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 59634 has 4,819 at 12 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 59638 reports a median household income of $126,723 against $129,891 in ZIP 59634, with per-capita income of $48,581 vs $61,648. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.5% in 59638 and 46.8% in 59634. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 2.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.8% — 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 — in 59638 versus $553,900 in 59634, with median rent of — and $994 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.8% vs 93.9%. 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.