ZIP 02896 vs ZIP 02876

This side-by-side compares ZIP 02896 (North Smithfield, RI) and ZIP 02876 (Slatersville, RI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 02896 has a population of 11,537 at 188 people per square mile, while ZIP 02876 has 430 at 1,311 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 02896 reports a median household income of $108,983 against — in ZIP 02876, with per-capita income of $54,477 vs $50,343. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.2% in 02896 and 18.9% in 02876. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 0.6%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 0.0% — 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 $457,400 in 02896 versus — in 02876, with median rent of $1,270 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 0.0%. 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.