ZIP 01038 vs ZIP 01088

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01038 (Hatfield, MA) and ZIP 01088 (West Hatfield, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01038 has a population of 2,545 at 98 people per square mile, while ZIP 01088 has 670 at 50 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 01038 reports a median household income of $106,635 against $85,368 in ZIP 01088, with per-capita income of $53,566 vs $45,505. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.9% in 01038 and 41.9% in 01088. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 3.8%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 0.0% — 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 $442,500 in 01038 versus $407,500 in 01088, with median rent of $1,442 and $1,171 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.7% vs 60.9%. 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.