ZIP 59801 vs ZIP 59802

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59801 (Missoula, MT) and ZIP 59802 (Missoula, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59801 has a population of 30,940 at 1,756 people per square mile, while ZIP 59802 has 18,407 at 154 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 59801 reports a median household income of $58,347 against $67,736 in ZIP 59802, with per-capita income of $41,709 vs $44,394. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 56.0% in 59801 and 51.3% in 59802. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 4.5% — 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 $442,400 in 59801 versus $461,700 in 59802, with median rent of $1,124 and $1,099 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 42.6% vs 51.6%. 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.