ZIP 66724 vs ZIP 66782

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66724 (Cherokee, KS) and ZIP 66782 (West Mineral, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66724 has a population of 1,065 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 66782 has 178 at 233 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 66724 reports a median household income of $58,750 against $36,458 in ZIP 66782, with per-capita income of $27,557 vs $26,271. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 66724 and 1.7% in 66782. Poverty rate reads 6.0% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 4.8% 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 $96,600 in 66724 versus $45,000 in 66782, with median rent of $725 and $894 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 77.3%. 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.