ZIP 01201 vs ZIP 01240

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01201 (Pittsfield, MA) and ZIP 01240 (Lenox, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01201 has a population of 46,504 at 339 people per square mile, while ZIP 01240 has 4,534 at 82 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 01201 reports a median household income of $71,093 against $107,826 in ZIP 01240, with per-capita income of $45,150 vs $60,066. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.4% in 01201 and 53.2% in 01240. Poverty rate reads 14.7% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 6.2% — 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 $259,800 in 01201 versus $470,400 in 01240, with median rent of $1,139 and $1,091 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.5% vs 71.7%. 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.