ZIP 96743 vs ZIP 96738

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96743 (Kamuela, HI) and ZIP 96738 (Waikoloa, HI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96743 has a population of 12,160 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 96738 has 6,609 at 29 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 96743 reports a median household income of $101,468 against $80,928 in ZIP 96738, with per-capita income of $53,079 vs $35,251. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.8% in 96743 and 32.5% in 96738. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 13.0%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 8.3% — 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 $738,700 in 96743 versus $813,800 in 96738, with median rent of $1,850 and $2,184 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.0% vs 69.8%. 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.