ZIP 96778 vs ZIP 96760

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96778 (Pahoa, HI) and ZIP 96760 (Kurtistown, HI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96778 has a population of 14,409 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 96760 has 3,001 at 67 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 96778 reports a median household income of $39,750 against $103,286 in ZIP 96760, with per-capita income of $23,087 vs $33,439. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 96778 and 26.8% in 96760. Poverty rate reads 35.4% vs 19.3%, and unemployment 12.0% vs 2.6% — 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 $273,800 in 96778 versus $368,700 in 96760, with median rent of $1,293 and $1,544 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.8% vs 82.2%. 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.