ZIP 02809 vs ZIP 02885

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02809 (Bristol, RI) and ZIP 02885 (Warren, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02809 has a population of 22,938 at 902 people per square mile, while ZIP 02885 has 10,627 at 669 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 02809 reports a median household income of $97,764 against $90,729 in ZIP 02885, with per-capita income of $52,739 vs $53,007. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 47.6% in 02809 and 36.4% in 02885. Poverty rate reads 6.5% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 4.2% — 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 $485,000 in 02809 versus $395,700 in 02885, with median rent of $1,579 and $1,363 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.1% vs 61.3%. 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.