ZIP 02860 vs ZIP 02909

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02860 (Pawtucket, RI) and ZIP 02909 (Providence, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02860 has a population of 45,199 at 3,229 people per square mile, while ZIP 02909 has 43,540 at 4,853 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 02860 reports a median household income of $61,539 against $64,649 in ZIP 02909, with per-capita income of $33,423 vs $28,721. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.1% in 02860 and 22.0% in 02909. Poverty rate reads 15.5% vs 24.4%, and unemployment 8.1% vs 11.3% — 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 $336,100 in 02860 versus $325,300 in 02909, with median rent of $1,192 and $1,366 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 40.8% vs 39.8%. 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.