ZIP 64496 vs ZIP 68421

This side-by-side compares ZIP 64496 (Watson, MO) and ZIP 68421 (Peru, NE) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 64496 has a population of 154 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 68421 has 1,107 at 9 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 64496 reports a median household income of $53,021 against $61,600 in ZIP 68421, with per-capita income of $31,126 vs $26,040. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.1% in 64496 and 37.4% in 68421. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 18.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 10.8% — 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 $206,600 in 64496 versus $113,800 in 68421, with median rent of — and $478 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.2% vs 80.6%. 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.