ZIP 66717 vs ZIP 66714

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