ZIP 66018 vs ZIP 66227

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66018 (De Soto, KS) and ZIP 66227 (Lenexa, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66018 has a population of 5,760 at 106 people per square mile, while ZIP 66227 has 4,543 at 132 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 66018 reports a median household income of $105,357 against $139,883 in ZIP 66227, with per-capita income of $52,794 vs $61,265. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.9% in 66018 and 70.1% in 66227. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 2.2% — 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 $422,500 in 66018 versus $478,200 in 66227, with median rent of $1,158 and $2,078 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.8% vs 85.8%. 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.