ZIP 66044 vs ZIP 66049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66044 (Lawrence, KS) and ZIP 66049 (Lawrence, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66044 has a population of 28,417 at 177 people per square mile, while ZIP 66049 has 25,957 at 225 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 66044 reports a median household income of $55,955 against $90,147 in ZIP 66049, with per-capita income of $32,823 vs $52,329. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 54.5% in 66044 and 61.4% in 66049. Poverty rate reads 26.2% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 3.6% — 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 $235,000 in 66044 versus $393,400 in 66049, with median rent of $1,038 and $1,183 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 38.6% vs 55.0%. 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.