ZIP 02115 vs ZIP 02118

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02115 (Boston, MA) and ZIP 02118 (Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02115 has a population of 28,441 at 15,513 people per square mile, while ZIP 02118 has 26,498 at 9,331 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 02115 reports a median household income of $54,991 against $98,224 in ZIP 02118, with per-capita income of $38,695 vs $89,715. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 66.8% in 02115 and 60.8% in 02118. Poverty rate reads 36.6% vs 23.2%, and unemployment 7.6% vs 6.3% — 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 $945,100 in 02115 versus $1,058,200 in 02118, with median rent of $2,039 and $1,968 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 14.6% vs 32.5%. 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.