ZIP 59840 vs ZIP 59870

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59840 (Hamilton, MT) and ZIP 59870 (Stevensville, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59840 has a population of 13,052 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 59870 has 9,617 at 15 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 59840 reports a median household income of $61,752 against $80,325 in ZIP 59870, with per-capita income of $37,276 vs $43,276. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.2% in 59840 and 30.5% in 59870. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 9.8%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 4.2% — 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 $428,100 in 59840 versus $515,600 in 59870, with median rent of $1,033 and $1,100 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.3% vs 84.6%. 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.