ZIP 64866 vs ZIP 64842

This side-by-side compares ZIP 64866 (Stark City, MO) and ZIP 64842 (Fairview, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 64866 has a population of 1,484 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 64842 has 829 at 14 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 64866 reports a median household income of $59,712 against $57,969 in ZIP 64842, with per-capita income of $36,965 vs $34,978. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.8% in 64866 and 20.1% in 64842. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 17.8% — 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 $169,100 in 64866 versus $136,700 in 64842, with median rent of $838 and $812 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.2% vs 69.6%. 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.