ZIP 01535 vs ZIP 01515

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01535 (North Brookfield, MA) and ZIP 01515 (East Brookfield, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01535 has a population of 4,680 at 85 people per square mile, while ZIP 01515 has 2,183 at 85 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 01535 reports a median household income of $79,285 against $81,042 in ZIP 01515, with per-capita income of $43,980 vs $44,577. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 01535 and 27.0% in 01515. Poverty rate reads 12.9% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 5.1% — 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 $359,100 in 01535 versus $381,200 in 01515, with median rent of $981 and $1,142 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 83.3%. 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.