ZIP 02828 vs ZIP 02917

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02828 (Greenville, RI) and ZIP 02917 (Smithfield, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02828 has a population of 7,704 at 623 people per square mile, while ZIP 02917 has 13,762 at 249 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 02828 reports a median household income of $97,196 against $110,938 in ZIP 02917, with per-capita income of $52,343 vs $44,488. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.5% in 02828 and 38.9% in 02917. Poverty rate reads 3.7% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 6.1% — 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 $440,900 in 02828 versus $451,800 in 02917, with median rent of $1,070 and $1,001 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.3% vs 78.9%. 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.