ZIP 02874 vs ZIP 02852

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02874 (Saunderstown, RI) and ZIP 02852 (North Kingstown, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02874 has a population of 5,860 at 149 people per square mile, while ZIP 02852 has 22,551 at 282 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 02874 reports a median household income of $159,861 against $118,643 in ZIP 02852, with per-capita income of $72,481 vs $62,471. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 70.3% in 02874 and 53.1% in 02852. Poverty rate reads 1.7% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 3.5% — 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 $713,700 in 02874 versus $504,900 in 02852, with median rent of $1,774 and $1,239 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.6% vs 72.2%. 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.