ZIP 63469 vs ZIP 63434

This side-by-side compares ZIP 63469 (Shelbyville, MO) and ZIP 63434 (Bethel, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 63469 has a population of 1,194 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 63434 has 687 at 4 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 63469 reports a median household income of $55,625 against $50,625 in ZIP 63434, with per-capita income of $28,728 vs $30,520. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 63469 and 20.5% in 63434. Poverty rate reads 13.1% vs 10.9%, and unemployment 1.6% 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 $120,000 in 63469 versus $89,300 in 63434, with median rent of $600 and $502 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.1% vs 56.1%. 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.