ZIP 64050 vs ZIP 64054

This side-by-side compares ZIP 64050 (Independence, MO) and ZIP 64054 (Independence, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 64050 has a population of 22,178 at 639 people per square mile, while ZIP 64054 has 3,731 at 715 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 64050 reports a median household income of $48,834 against $59,719 in ZIP 64054, with per-capita income of $31,292 vs $30,798. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.8% in 64050 and 21.1% in 64054. Poverty rate reads 18.5% vs 13.2%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 4.2% — 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 $145,300 in 64050 versus $117,600 in 64054, with median rent of $948 and $1,245 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.3% vs 70.8%. 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.