ZIP 02644 vs ZIP 02542

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02644 (Forestdale, MA) and ZIP 02542 (Buzzards Bay, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02644 has a population of 3,955 at 426 people per square mile, while ZIP 02542 has 1,139 at 14 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 02644 reports a median household income of $108,158 against $62,083 in ZIP 02542, with per-capita income of $51,790 vs $25,873. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.1% in 02644 and 42.1% in 02542. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 0.8%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 0.9% — 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 $485,700 in 02644 versus — in 02542, with median rent of $2,176 and $2,094 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 0.0%. 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.