ZIP 67144 vs ZIP 67017

This side-by-side compares ZIP 67144 (Towanda, KS) and ZIP 67017 (Benton, KS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 67144 has a population of 2,716 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 67017 has 2,294 at 14 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 67144 reports a median household income of $73,589 against $88,750 in ZIP 67017, with per-capita income of $34,698 vs $44,201. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.5% in 67144 and 28.1% in 67017. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 8.0% vs 1.3% — 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 $173,500 in 67144 versus $259,400 in 67017, with median rent of $1,125 and $992 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 89.3%. 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.