ZIP 74940 vs ZIP 74953

This side-by-side compares ZIP 74940 (Howe, OK) and ZIP 74953 (Poteau, OK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 74940 has a population of 2,697 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 74953 has 11,632 at 33 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 74940 reports a median household income of $50,677 against $56,341 in ZIP 74953, with per-capita income of $21,303 vs $27,542. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 74940 and 21.3% in 74953. Poverty rate reads 23.1% vs 16.4%, and unemployment 4.4% 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 $130,700 in 74940 versus $185,700 in 74953, with median rent of $747 and $854 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.0% vs 69.0%. 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.