ZIP 73434 vs ZIP 73491

This side-by-side compares ZIP 73434 (Foster, OK) and ZIP 73491 (Velma, OK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 73434 has a population of 699 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 73491 has 721 at 16 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 73434 reports a median household income of $63,214 against $83,750 in ZIP 73491, with per-capita income of $29,494 vs $30,168. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.2% in 73434 and 12.2% in 73491. Poverty rate reads 21.6% vs 23.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 8.8% — 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 $255,000 in 73434 versus $114,600 in 73491, with median rent of $1,656 and $971 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.2% vs 72.3%. 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.