ZIP 01223 vs ZIP 01243

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01223 (Becket, MA) and ZIP 01243 (Middlefield, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01223 has a population of 2,314 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 01243 has 334 at 7 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 01223 reports a median household income of $86,818 against $91,250 in ZIP 01243, with per-capita income of $55,727 vs $59,361. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.4% in 01223 and 37.5% in 01243. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 4.5% — 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 $363,600 in 01223 versus $292,900 in 01243, with median rent of $2,036 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.9% vs 97.4%. 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.