ZIP 02472 vs ZIP 02458

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02472 (Watertown, MA) and ZIP 02458 (Newton, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02472 has a population of 32,014 at 3,062 people per square mile, while ZIP 02458 has 12,131 at 2,346 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 02472 reports a median household income of $126,336 against $153,520 in ZIP 02458, with per-capita income of $73,788 vs $84,032. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 66.5% in 02472 and 74.6% in 02458. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.9% — 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 $784,600 in 02472 versus $1,136,100 in 02458, with median rent of $2,498 and $2,154 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.6% vs 61.7%. 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.