ZIP 66714 vs ZIP 66717

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66714 (Benedict, KS) and ZIP 66717 (Buffalo, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66714 has a population of 177 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 66717 has 497 at 4 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 66714 reports a median household income of $47,361 against $70,833 in ZIP 66717, with per-capita income of $18,413 vs $33,350. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 3.6% in 66714 and 19.2% in 66717. Poverty rate reads 17.3% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.1% — 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 — in 66714 versus $46,000 in 66717, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.3% vs 98.5%. 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.