ZIP 74059 vs ZIP 74074

This side-by-side compares ZIP 74059 (Perkins, OK) and ZIP 74074 (Stillwater, OK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 74059 has a population of 5,476 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 74074 has 29,184 at 86 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 74059 reports a median household income of $51,679 against $52,998 in ZIP 74074, with per-capita income of $25,576 vs $36,688. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.0% in 74059 and 49.4% in 74074. Poverty rate reads 24.0% vs 23.5%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 5.3% — 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 $201,900 in 74059 versus $258,700 in 74074, with median rent of $858 and $966 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.0% vs 49.0%. 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.