ZIP 02744 vs ZIP 02740

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02744 (New Bedford, MA) and ZIP 02740 (New Bedford, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02744 has a population of 11,900 at 3,560 people per square mile, while ZIP 02740 has 43,087 at 2,926 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 02744 reports a median household income of $58,675 against $55,237 in ZIP 02740, with per-capita income of $28,070 vs $30,549. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.7% in 02744 and 17.3% in 02740. Poverty rate reads 14.3% vs 19.8%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 8.1% — 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 $372,700 in 02744 versus $345,800 in 02740, with median rent of $1,224 and $1,086 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 34.4% vs 39.6%. 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.