ZIP 96727 vs ZIP 96776

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96727 (Honokaa, HI) and ZIP 96776 (Paauilo, HI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96727 has a population of 4,878 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 96776 has 1,490 at 9 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 96727 reports a median household income of $85,777 against $93,241 in ZIP 96776, with per-capita income of $30,829 vs $43,898. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.3% in 96727 and 35.9% in 96776. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 9.5%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 4.0% — 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 $643,800 in 96727 versus $440,900 in 96776, with median rent of $1,506 and $2,205 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.2% vs 80.6%. 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.