ZIP 65053 vs ZIP 65109

This side-by-side compares ZIP 65053 (Lohman, MO) and ZIP 65109 (Jefferson City, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 65053 has a population of 1,425 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 65109 has 38,090 at 179 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 65053 reports a median household income of $120,870 against $74,694 in ZIP 65109, with per-capita income of $57,530 vs $41,141. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.7% in 65053 and 45.3% in 65109. Poverty rate reads 1.6% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.9% — 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 $341,400 in 65053 versus $221,600 in 65109, with median rent of $745 and $861 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.7% vs 66.7%. 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.