ZIP 66617 vs ZIP 66616

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66617 (Topeka, KS) and ZIP 66616 (Topeka, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66617 has a population of 8,688 at 80 people per square mile, while ZIP 66616 has 5,874 at 377 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 66617 reports a median household income of $86,761 against $51,893 in ZIP 66616, with per-capita income of $38,516 vs $26,739. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.6% in 66617 and 13.6% in 66616. Poverty rate reads 8.2% vs 16.1%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 3.2% — 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 $232,900 in 66617 versus $82,900 in 66616, with median rent of $1,154 and $1,078 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.0% vs 69.3%. 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.