ZIP 02129 vs ZIP 02113

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02129 (Charlestown, MA) and ZIP 02113 (Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02129 has a population of 16,439 at 4,698 people per square mile, while ZIP 02113 has 6,915 at 26,621 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 02129 reports a median household income of $157,247 against $113,314 in ZIP 02113, with per-capita income of $100,420 vs $84,919. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 71.2% in 02129 and 82.6% in 02113. Poverty rate reads 8.8% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 2.0% — 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 $912,000 in 02129 versus $662,000 in 02113, with median rent of $2,259 and $2,630 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.5% vs 15.6%. 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.