ZIP 00624 vs ZIP 00656

This side-by-side compares ZIP 00624 (Penuelas, PR) and ZIP 00656 (Guayanilla, PR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 00624 has a population of 26,241 at 235 people per square mile, while ZIP 00656 has 21,481 at 256 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 00624 reports a median household income of $22,979 against $24,065 in ZIP 00656, with per-capita income of $12,188 vs $13,271. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 00624 and 24.1% in 00656. Poverty rate reads 52.1% vs 45.5%, and unemployment 10.5% vs 16.6% — 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 $89,900 in 00624 versus $87,400 in 00656, with median rent of $504 and $454 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.2% vs 71.9%. 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.