ZIP 66746 vs ZIP 66780

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66746 (Hepler, KS) and ZIP 66780 (Walnut, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66746 has a population of 261 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 66780 has 589 at 2 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 66746 reports a median household income of $54,375 against $55,813 in ZIP 66780, with per-capita income of $22,627 vs $34,701. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 66746 and 7.5% in 66780. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 27.2%, and unemployment 9.6% vs 1.9% — 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 $212,500 in 66746 versus $157,400 in 66780, with median rent of — and $442 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.2% vs 96.4%. 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.