ZIP 63821 vs ZIP 63829

This side-by-side compares ZIP 63821 (Arbyrd, MO) and ZIP 63829 (Cardwell, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 63821 has a population of 970 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 63829 has 1,120 at 18 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 63821 reports a median household income of $40,238 against $28,281 in ZIP 63829, with per-capita income of $22,211 vs $15,864. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.2% in 63821 and 9.0% in 63829. Poverty rate reads 24.8% vs 46.3%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 0.6% — 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 $60,900 in 63821 versus $68,100 in 63829, with median rent of $625 and $768 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.9% vs 46.9%. 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.