ZIP 01542 vs ZIP 01524

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01542 (Rochdale, MA) and ZIP 01524 (Leicester, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01542 has a population of 2,202 at 211 people per square mile, while ZIP 01524 has 6,696 at 162 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 01542 reports a median household income of $96,111 against $102,099 in ZIP 01524, with per-capita income of $48,146 vs $42,669. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.4% in 01542 and 32.5% in 01524. Poverty rate reads 2.3% vs 5.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.8% — 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 $405,100 in 01542 versus $436,200 in 01524, with median rent of $1,474 and $1,661 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.8% vs 92.4%. 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.