ZIP 63536 vs ZIP 63548

This side-by-side compares ZIP 63536 (Downing, MO) and ZIP 63548 (Lancaster, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 63536 has a population of 851 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 63548 has 1,287 at 7 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 63536 reports a median household income of $60,625 against $66,625 in ZIP 63548, with per-capita income of $21,080 vs $28,968. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.1% in 63536 and 20.0% in 63548. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 15.1%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 1.8% — 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 $145,700 in 63536 versus $163,400 in 63548, with median rent of $361 and $349 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.2% vs 80.5%. 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.