ZIP 01081 vs ZIP 01521

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01081 (Wales, MA) and ZIP 01521 (Holland, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01081 has a population of 1,698 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 01521 has 2,481 at 78 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 01081 reports a median household income of $86,979 against $91,979 in ZIP 01521, with per-capita income of $42,646 vs $49,966. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.4% in 01081 and 35.3% in 01521. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 3.9% — 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 $296,800 in 01081 versus $333,600 in 01521, with median rent of $1,090 and $1,750 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 95.0%. 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.