ZIP 64638 vs ZIP 64656

This side-by-side compares ZIP 64638 (Dawn, MO) and ZIP 64656 (Ludlow, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 64638 has a population of 521 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 64656 has 240 at 5 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 64638 reports a median household income of $63,654 against $58,438 in ZIP 64656, with per-capita income of $26,810 vs $27,636. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.2% in 64638 and 13.0% in 64656. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 16.5%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 9.0% — 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 $244,600 in 64638 versus $107,400 in 64656, with median rent of $540 and $639 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.3% vs 64.6%. 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.