ZIP 83646 vs ZIP 83642

This side-by-side compares ZIP 83646 (Meridian, ID) and ZIP 83642 (Meridian, ID) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 83646 has a population of 47,098 at 660 people per square mile, while ZIP 83642 has 37,008 at 348 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 83646 reports a median household income of $102,861 against $96,909 in ZIP 83642, with per-capita income of $50,348 vs $51,212. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.3% in 83646 and 44.1% in 83642. Poverty rate reads 5.4% vs 6.4%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 1.9% — 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 $542,500 in 83646 versus $533,600 in 83642, with median rent of $1,892 and $1,742 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.2% vs 69.7%. 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.