ZIP 01940 vs ZIP 01880

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01940 (Lynnfield, MA) and ZIP 01880 (Wakefield, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01940 has a population of 12,108 at 443 people per square mile, while ZIP 01880 has 24,733 at 1,382 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 01940 reports a median household income of $173,214 against $134,306 in ZIP 01880, with per-capita income of $78,738 vs $67,454. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.7% in 01940 and 59.7% in 01880. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 4.4% — 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 $905,400 in 01940 versus $723,500 in 01880, with median rent of $2,676 and $1,958 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.7% vs 70.7%. 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.