ZIP 02114 vs ZIP 02108

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02114 (Boston, MA) and ZIP 02108 (Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02114 has a population of 11,999 at 10,323 people per square mile, while ZIP 02108 has 3,825 at 10,825 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 02114 reports a median household income of $132,210 against $212,928 in ZIP 02108, with per-capita income of $114,455 vs $144,957. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 85.3% in 02114 and 78.6% in 02108. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 6.8% — 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 $924,400 in 02114 versus $1,667,600 in 02108, with median rent of $2,989 and $2,597 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 22.1% vs 50.6%. 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.