ZIP 66538 vs ZIP 66522

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66538 (Seneca, KS) and ZIP 66522 (Oneida, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66538 has a population of 3,264 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 66522 has 49 at 110 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 66538 reports a median household income of $78,981 against $57,500 in ZIP 66522, with per-capita income of $39,890 vs $13,209. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.9% in 66538 and 7.4% in 66522. Poverty rate reads 8.2% vs 26.2%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 6.1% — 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 $299,300 in 66538 versus $50,000 in 66522, with median rent of $808 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.0% vs 76.9%. 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.