ZIP 64601 vs ZIP 64688

This side-by-side compares ZIP 64601 (Chillicothe, MO) and ZIP 64688 (Wheeling, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 64601 has a population of 12,438 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 64688 has 548 at 4 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 64601 reports a median household income of $63,061 against $67,679 in ZIP 64688, with per-capita income of $33,673 vs $26,123. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.4% in 64601 and 7.1% in 64688. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 12.3%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 0.3% — 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 $153,900 in 64601 versus $132,500 in 64688, with median rent of $769 and $713 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.7% vs 85.7%. 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.