ZIP 01945 vs ZIP 01970

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01945 (Marblehead, MA) and ZIP 01970 (Salem, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01945 has a population of 19,808 at 1,744 people per square mile, while ZIP 01970 has 41,109 at 1,957 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 01945 reports a median household income of $179,583 against $85,041 in ZIP 01970, with per-capita income of $103,886 vs $50,314. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 78.1% in 01945 and 47.8% in 01970. Poverty rate reads 4.4% vs 12.1%, and unemployment 2.6% 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 $942,200 in 01945 versus $542,900 in 01970, with median rent of $1,764 and $1,836 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 49.6%. 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.