ZIP 02125 vs ZIP 02127

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02125 (Dorchester, MA) and ZIP 02127 (South Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02125 has a population of 33,295 at 6,029 people per square mile, while ZIP 02127 has 31,799 at 6,069 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 02125 reports a median household income of $82,953 against $164,387 in ZIP 02127, with per-capita income of $47,203 vs $99,163. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.7% in 02125 and 69.8% in 02127. Poverty rate reads 23.2% vs 11.1%, and unemployment 7.4% vs 4.0% — 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 $657,100 in 02125 versus $863,700 in 02127, with median rent of $1,949 and $2,736 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 34.9% vs 45.3%. 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.