ZIP 01938 vs ZIP 01982

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01938 (Ipswich, MA) and ZIP 01982 (South Hamilton, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01938 has a population of 13,175 at 167 people per square mile, while ZIP 01982 has 7,764 at 211 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 01938 reports a median household income of $138,750 against $132,571 in ZIP 01982, with per-capita income of $71,987 vs $64,828. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.2% in 01938 and 68.9% in 01982. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 3.0% — 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 $745,400 in 01938 versus $720,800 in 01982, with median rent of $1,598 and $1,794 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.4% vs 84.8%. 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.