ZIP 02802 vs ZIP 02838

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02802 (Albion, RI) and ZIP 02838 (Manville, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02802 has a population of 786 at 1,552 people per square mile, while ZIP 02838 has 3,400 at 918 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 02802 reports a median household income of $116,159 against $97,273 in ZIP 02838, with per-capita income of $57,877 vs $56,253. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.6% in 02802 and 41.0% in 02838. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 12.6%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 8.0% — 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 $362,700 in 02802 versus $372,300 in 02838, with median rent of — and $1,628 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 64.5%. 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.