ZIP 02882 vs ZIP 02879

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02882 (Narragansett, RI) and ZIP 02879 (Wakefield, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02882 has a population of 14,184 at 428 people per square mile, while ZIP 02879 has 20,371 at 211 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 02882 reports a median household income of $95,721 against $112,231 in ZIP 02879, with per-capita income of $54,992 vs $59,265. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 64.3% in 02882 and 59.0% in 02879. Poverty rate reads 20.6% vs 8.2%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 5.2% — 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 $749,700 in 02882 versus $564,700 in 02879, with median rent of $1,705 and $1,281 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.4% vs 78.1%. 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.