ZIP 65255 vs ZIP 65202

This side-by-side compares ZIP 65255 (Hallsville, MO) and ZIP 65202 (Columbia, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 65255 has a population of 3,731 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 65202 has 46,547 at 121 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 65255 reports a median household income of $83,900 against $72,289 in ZIP 65202, with per-capita income of $36,754 vs $37,071. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.4% in 65255 and 41.1% in 65202. Poverty rate reads 12.9% vs 11.5%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 4.4% — 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 $262,200 in 65255 versus $217,900 in 65202, with median rent of $1,139 and $1,128 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% vs 63.2%. 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.