ZIP 84653 vs ZIP 84660

This side-by-side compares ZIP 84653 (Salem, UT) and ZIP 84660 (Spanish Fork, UT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 84653 has a population of 7,947 at 138 people per square mile, while ZIP 84660 has 37,995 at 105 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 84653 reports a median household income of $112,454 against $104,355 in ZIP 84660, with per-capita income of $40,231 vs $33,423. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.8% in 84653 and 39.4% in 84660. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 6.3%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 2.8% — 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 $610,600 in 84653 versus $489,000 in 84660, with median rent of $1,593 and $1,460 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.2% vs 79.9%. 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.