ZIP 73556 vs ZIP 73521

This side-by-side compares ZIP 73556 (Martha, OK) and ZIP 73521 (Altus, OK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 73556 has a population of 166 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 73521 has 21,636 at 46 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 73556 reports a median household income of $64,375 against $60,887 in ZIP 73521, with per-capita income of $26,315 vs $32,970. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.5% in 73556 and 24.9% in 73521. Poverty rate reads 29.9% vs 16.1%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 5.6% — 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 $107,100 in 73556 versus $160,600 in 73521, with median rent of $625 and $861 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.4% vs 56.5%. 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.