ZIP 59821 vs ZIP 59863

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59821 (Arlee, MT) and ZIP 59863 (Ravalli, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59821 has a population of 2,377 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 59863 has 76 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 59821 reports a median household income of $66,458 against $78,922 in ZIP 59863, with per-capita income of $30,589 vs $41,595. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.9% in 59821 and 5.5% in 59863. Poverty rate reads 16.0% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 7.4% 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 $375,200 in 59821 versus — in 59863, with median rent of $967 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 100.0%. 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.