ZIP 01603 vs ZIP 01602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01603 (Worcester, MA) and ZIP 01602 (Worcester, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01603 has a population of 19,916 at 1,704 people per square mile, while ZIP 01602 has 22,819 at 1,528 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 01603 reports a median household income of $66,049 against $91,764 in ZIP 01602, with per-capita income of $33,873 vs $44,961. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 01603 and 44.9% in 01602. Poverty rate reads 17.8% vs 13.5%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 6.1% — 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 $331,300 in 01603 versus $417,300 in 01602, with median rent of $1,372 and $1,590 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.5% vs 58.9%. 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.