ZIP 02136 vs ZIP 02131

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02136 (Hyde Park, MA) and ZIP 02131 (Roslindale, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02136 has a population of 28,488 at 2,396 people per square mile, while ZIP 02131 has 29,826 at 4,452 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 02136 reports a median household income of $96,737 against $111,006 in ZIP 02131, with per-capita income of $44,254 vs $59,973. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.8% in 02136 and 53.9% in 02131. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 6.3% vs 5.7% — 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 $578,400 in 02136 versus $664,700 in 02131, with median rent of $1,869 and $2,020 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.2% vs 59.3%. 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.