ZIP 02126 vs ZIP 02124

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02126 (Mattapan, MA) and ZIP 02124 (Dorchester Center, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02126 has a population of 25,562 at 4,746 people per square mile, while ZIP 02124 has 47,783 at 6,159 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 02126 reports a median household income of $65,709 against $81,923 in ZIP 02124, with per-capita income of $36,742 vs $41,235. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 02126 and 31.6% in 02124. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 17.0%, and unemployment 10.6% vs 8.0% — 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 $542,700 in 02126 versus $650,700 in 02124, with median rent of $1,637 and $1,684 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 43.5% vs 41.4%. 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.