ZIP 02062 vs ZIP 02090

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02062 (Norwood, MA) and ZIP 02090 (Westwood, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02062 has a population of 28,602 at 1,066 people per square mile, while ZIP 02090 has 14,636 at 519 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 02062 reports a median household income of $107,030 against $223,125 in ZIP 02090, with per-capita income of $63,827 vs $94,692. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.4% in 02062 and 72.4% in 02090. Poverty rate reads 8.8% vs 4.6%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 1.9% — 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 $651,700 in 02062 versus $1,041,500 in 02090, with median rent of $2,116 and $2,553 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.0% vs 87.3%. 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.