ZIP 02148 vs ZIP 02176

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02148 (Malden, MA) and ZIP 02176 (Melrose, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02148 has a population of 59,503 at 4,554 people per square mile, while ZIP 02176 has 26,983 at 2,225 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 02148 reports a median household income of $100,606 against $133,953 in ZIP 02176, with per-capita income of $48,581 vs $67,861. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.1% in 02148 and 62.0% in 02176. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 3.8%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.7% — 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 $633,500 in 02148 versus $822,900 in 02176, with median rent of $2,204 and $1,970 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 41.3% vs 67.2%. 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.