ZIP 64097 vs ZIP 64074

This side-by-side compares ZIP 64097 (Wellington, MO) and ZIP 64074 (Napoleon, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 64097 has a population of 1,410 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 64074 has 638 at 11 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 64097 reports a median household income of $74,750 against $75,469 in ZIP 64074, with per-capita income of $36,593 vs $54,697. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.0% in 64097 and 26.7% in 64074. Poverty rate reads 7.1% vs 6.1%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 3.1% — 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 $229,800 in 64097 versus $224,100 in 64074, with median rent of $1,085 and $2,145 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% vs 85.3%. 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.