ZIP 59644 vs ZIP 59643

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59644 (Townsend, MT) and ZIP 59643 (Toston, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59644 has a population of 4,036 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 59643 has 437 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 59644 reports a median household income of $68,811 against $49,831 in ZIP 59643, with per-capita income of $35,674 vs $24,329. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.6% in 59644 and 8.4% in 59643. Poverty rate reads 16.5% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 7.5% 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 $361,500 in 59644 versus $355,000 in 59643, with median rent of $1,005 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.6% vs 94.4%. 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.