ZIP 66520 vs ZIP 66503

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66520 (Olsburg, KS) and ZIP 66503 (Manhattan, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66520 has a population of 577 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 66503 has 13,428 at 64 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 66520 reports a median household income of $94,911 against $97,846 in ZIP 66503, with per-capita income of $43,358 vs $55,575. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.6% in 66520 and 61.8% in 66503. Poverty rate reads 7.2% vs 7.4%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 2.3% — 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 $241,700 in 66520 versus $339,100 in 66503, with median rent of $688 and $1,225 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.1% vs 59.5%. 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.