ZIP 66203 vs ZIP 66202

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66203 (Shawnee, KS) and ZIP 66202 (Mission, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66203 has a population of 19,156 at 1,178 people per square mile, while ZIP 66202 has 16,173 at 1,189 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 66203 reports a median household income of $75,869 against $75,129 in ZIP 66202, with per-capita income of $40,850 vs $51,848. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.7% in 66203 and 52.6% in 66202. Poverty rate reads 8.9% vs 12.1%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.4% — 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 $254,900 in 66203 versus $284,900 in 66202, with median rent of $1,244 and $1,243 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.8% vs 49.6%. 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.