ZIP 66780 vs ZIP 66746

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