ZIP 00952 vs ZIP 00949

This side-by-side compares ZIP 00952 (Sabana Seca, PR) and ZIP 00949 (Toa Baja, PR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 00952 has a population of 10,008 at 3,123 people per square mile, while ZIP 00949 has 82,278 at 1,807 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 00952 reports a median household income of $22,288 against $34,563 in ZIP 00949, with per-capita income of $13,847 vs $19,992. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.5% in 00952 and 30.3% in 00949. Poverty rate reads 40.0% vs 31.0%, and unemployment 10.2% vs 7.7% — 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 $123,800 in 00952 versus $152,300 in 00949, with median rent of $551 and $721 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.7% vs 71.0%. 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.