ZIP 02184 vs ZIP 02169

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02184 (Braintree, MA) and ZIP 02169 (Quincy, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02184 has a population of 35,744 at 1,003 people per square mile, while ZIP 02169 has 55,055 at 2,370 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 02184 reports a median household income of $122,214 against $96,290 in ZIP 02169, with per-capita income of $57,790 vs $52,999. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 47.5% in 02184 and 49.8% in 02169. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 7.4% — 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 $656,800 in 02184 versus $581,600 in 02169, with median rent of $2,024 and $2,089 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 41.0%. 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.