ZIP 65265 vs ZIP 65285

This side-by-side compares ZIP 65265 (Mexico, MO) and ZIP 65285 (Thompson, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 65265 has a population of 15,409 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 65285 has 695 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 65265 reports a median household income of $56,969 against $98,625 in ZIP 65285, with per-capita income of $29,330 vs $42,209. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.6% in 65265 and 14.5% in 65285. Poverty rate reads 17.3% vs 1.9%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 0.0% - 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 $152,600 in 65265 versus $220,800 in 65285, with median rent of $693 and - per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.4% vs 92.7%. 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.