ZIP 96738 vs ZIP 96743

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96738 (Waikoloa, HI) and ZIP 96743 (Kamuela, HI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96738 has a population of 6,609 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 96743 has 12,160 at 13 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 96738 reports a median household income of $80,928 against $101,468 in ZIP 96743, with per-capita income of $35,251 vs $53,079. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.5% in 96738 and 43.8% in 96743. Poverty rate reads 13.0% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 5.2% — 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 $813,800 in 96738 versus $738,700 in 96743, with median rent of $2,184 and $1,850 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.8% 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.