ZIP 01009 vs ZIP 01079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01009 (Bondsville, MA) and ZIP 01079 (Thorndike, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01009 has a population of 741 at 352 people per square mile, while ZIP 01079 has 692 at 238 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 01009 reports a median household income of $72,841 against $70,588 in ZIP 01079, with per-capita income of $36,017 vs $42,454. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.1% in 01009 and 37.7% in 01079. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 6.6% vs 4.8% — 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 $274,200 in 01009 versus $263,400 in 01079, with median rent of $1,286 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.3% vs 77.4%. 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.