ZIP 01525 vs ZIP 01534

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01525 (Linwood, MA) and ZIP 01534 (Northbridge, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01525 has a population of 290 at 250 people per square mile, while ZIP 01534 has 5,631 at 248 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 01525 reports a median household income of — against $141,250 in ZIP 01534, with per-capita income of — vs $64,863. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 01525 and 44.6% in 01534. Poverty rate reads — vs 3.3%, and unemployment — vs 7.4% — 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 — in 01525 versus $481,200 in 01534, with median rent of — and $1,226 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 81.6%. 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.