ZIP 02056 vs ZIP 02071

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02056 (Norfolk, MA) and ZIP 02071 (South Walpole, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02056 has a population of 10,981 at 285 people per square mile, while ZIP 02071 has 1,707 at 679 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 02056 reports a median household income of $200,720 against $213,885 in ZIP 02071, with per-capita income of $71,933 vs $80,657. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 61.6% in 02056 and 77.4% in 02071. Poverty rate reads 2.2% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 5.8% — 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 $725,200 in 02056 versus $651,800 in 02071, with median rent of $2,019 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.9% vs 95.7%. 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.