ZIP 02118 vs ZIP 02116

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02118 (Boston, MA) and ZIP 02116 (Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02118 has a population of 26,498 at 9,331 people per square mile, while ZIP 02116 has 20,628 at 12,632 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 02118 reports a median household income of $98,224 against $126,496 in ZIP 02116, with per-capita income of $89,715 vs $128,518. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.8% in 02118 and 77.5% in 02116. Poverty rate reads 23.2% vs 16.6%, and unemployment 6.3% vs 5.2% — 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 $1,058,200 in 02118 versus $1,562,500 in 02116, with median rent of $1,968 and $2,375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 32.5% vs 35.0%. 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.