ZIP 65686 vs ZIP 65681

This side-by-side compares ZIP 65686 (Kimberling City, MO) and ZIP 65681 (Lampe, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 65686 has a population of 4,920 at 199 people per square mile, while ZIP 65681 has 2,345 at 27 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 65686 reports a median household income of $58,363 against $57,548 in ZIP 65681, with per-capita income of $36,374 vs $35,107. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.6% in 65686 and 25.4% in 65681. Poverty rate reads 15.1% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 4.5% 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 $257,300 in 65686 versus $214,800 in 65681, with median rent of $1,023 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.8% vs 95.8%. 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.