ZIP 63654 vs ZIP 63656

This side-by-side compares ZIP 63654 (Lesterville, MO) and ZIP 63656 (Middle Brook, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 63654 has a population of 706 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 63656 has 531 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 63654 reports a median household income of $36,607 against $47,181 in ZIP 63656, with per-capita income of $26,322 vs $33,153. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.6% in 63654 and 13.6% in 63656. Poverty rate reads 13.6% vs 2.6%, and unemployment 11.0% 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 $188,200 in 63654 versus $101,900 in 63656, with median rent of $675 and $525 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.2% vs 84.1%. 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.