ZIP 66801 vs ZIP 66835

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66801 (Emporia, KS) and ZIP 66835 (Americus, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66801 has a population of 28,492 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 66835 has 1,360 at 9 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 66801 reports a median household income of $56,794 against $81,000 in ZIP 66835, with per-capita income of $29,035 vs $31,266. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.6% in 66801 and 29.8% in 66835. Poverty rate reads 15.9% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 4.6% — 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 $152,700 in 66801 versus $124,000 in 66835, with median rent of $822 and $1,023 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.7% vs 80.2%. 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.