ZIP 01432 vs ZIP 01450

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01432 (Ayer, MA) and ZIP 01450 (Groton, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01432 has a population of 7,089 at 323 people per square mile, while ZIP 01450 has 10,646 at 125 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 01432 reports a median household income of $101,966 against $193,292 in ZIP 01450, with per-capita income of $58,087 vs $80,105. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.9% in 01432 and 70.3% in 01450. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 3.9%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 5.4% — 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 $463,800 in 01432 versus $743,400 in 01450, with median rent of $1,442 and $1,473 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.5% vs 89.0%. 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.