ZIP 74953 vs ZIP 74940

This side-by-side compares ZIP 74953 (Poteau, OK) and ZIP 74940 (Howe, OK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 74953 has a population of 11,632 at 33 people per square mile, while ZIP 74940 has 2,697 at 17 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 74953 reports a median household income of $56,341 against $50,677 in ZIP 74940, with per-capita income of $27,542 vs $21,303. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.3% in 74953 and 16.4% in 74940. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 23.1%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 4.4% — 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 $185,700 in 74953 versus $130,700 in 74940, with median rent of $854 and $747 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.0% vs 78.0%. 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.