ZIP 02113 vs ZIP 02109

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02113 (Boston, MA) and ZIP 02109 (Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02113 has a population of 6,915 at 26,621 people per square mile, while ZIP 02109 has 3,771 at 8,402 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 02113 reports a median household income of $113,314 against $158,843 in ZIP 02109, with per-capita income of $84,919 vs $118,478. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 82.6% in 02113 and 85.7% in 02109. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 2.0% — 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 $662,000 in 02113 versus $958,000 in 02109, with median rent of $2,630 and $3,501 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 15.6% vs 31.7%. 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.