ZIP 59864 vs ZIP 59855

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59864 (Ronan, MT) and ZIP 59855 (Pablo, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59864 has a population of 6,752 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 59855 has 957 at 508 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 59864 reports a median household income of $61,978 against $32,688 in ZIP 59855, with per-capita income of $32,104 vs $13,472. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.3% in 59864 and 9.6% in 59855. Poverty rate reads 23.0% vs 42.2%, and unemployment 6.7% 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 $297,700 in 59864 versus $160,600 in 59855, with median rent of $913 and $631 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.4% vs 56.7%. 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.