ZIP 59917 vs ZIP 59918

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59917 (Eureka, MT) and ZIP 59918 (Fortine, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59917 has a population of 4,225 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 59918 has 592 at 3 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 59917 reports a median household income of $50,139 against $67,250 in ZIP 59918, with per-capita income of $30,837 vs $43,770. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 59917 and 27.0% in 59918. Poverty rate reads 18.0% vs 14.9%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 9.4% — 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 $360,100 in 59917 versus $353,300 in 59918, with median rent of $913 and $1,308 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.3% vs 87.6%. 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.