ZIP 02215 vs ZIP 02115

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02215 (Boston, MA) and ZIP 02115 (Boston, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02215 has a population of 26,125 at 13,185 people per square mile, while ZIP 02115 has 28,441 at 15,513 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 02215 reports a median household income of $72,095 against $54,991 in ZIP 02115, with per-capita income of $34,893 vs $38,695. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 82.9% in 02215 and 66.8% in 02115. Poverty rate reads 28.4% vs 36.6%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 7.6% — 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 $750,000 in 02215 versus $945,100 in 02115, with median rent of $2,443 and $2,039 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 8.9% vs 14.6%. 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.