ZIP 02556 vs ZIP 02534

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02556 (North Falmouth, MA) and ZIP 02534 (Cataumet, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02556 has a population of 3,115 at 311 people per square mile, while ZIP 02534 has 842 at 142 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 02556 reports a median household income of $121,810 against $137,066 in ZIP 02534, with per-capita income of $67,084 vs $90,226. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 66.4% in 02556 and 72.2% in 02534. Poverty rate reads 2.9% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 0.0% — 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 $717,800 in 02556 versus $685,600 in 02534, with median rent of $2,339 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.9% vs 82.3%. 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.