ZIP 66012 vs ZIP 66226

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66012 (Bonner Springs, KS) and ZIP 66226 (Shawnee, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66012 has a population of 11,210 at 90 people per square mile, while ZIP 66226 has 12,877 at 431 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 66012 reports a median household income of $97,873 against $173,667 in ZIP 66226, with per-capita income of $43,604 vs $59,112. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.8% in 66012 and 67.1% in 66226. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 2.5%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 4.0% — 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 $276,500 in 66012 versus $416,200 in 66226, with median rent of $1,165 and $1,337 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.2% vs 86.1%. 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.