ZIP 02576 vs ZIP 02738

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02576 (West Wareham, MA) and ZIP 02738 (Marion, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02576 has a population of 3,754 at 149 people per square mile, while ZIP 02738 has 4,907 at 135 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 02576 reports a median household income of $63,021 against $143,092 in ZIP 02738, with per-capita income of $40,991 vs $96,841. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 02576 and 46.7% in 02738. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 5.7% — 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 $387,200 in 02576 versus $653,500 in 02738, with median rent of — and $1,176 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.2% vs 90.8%. 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.