ZIP 66860 vs ZIP 66853

This side-by-side compares ZIP 66860 (Madison, KS) and ZIP 66853 (Hamilton, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 66860 has a population of 1,258 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 66853 has 429 at 1 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 66860 reports a median household income of $60,531 against $51,875 in ZIP 66853, with per-capita income of $55,234 vs $36,694. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.5% in 66860 and 18.3% in 66853. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 2.5%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 5.4% — 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 $76,400 in 66860 versus $48,900 in 66853, with median rent of $595 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.6% vs 85.8%. 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.