ZIP 03031 vs ZIP 03054

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03031 (Amherst, NH) and ZIP 03054 (Merrimack, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03031 has a population of 11,247 at 126 people per square mile, while ZIP 03054 has 25,477 at 302 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 03031 reports a median household income of $153,125 against $127,303 in ZIP 03054, with per-capita income of $74,400 vs $60,951. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 65.8% in 03031 and 50.2% in 03054. Poverty rate reads 4.4% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 1.9% — 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 $537,300 in 03031 versus $458,700 in 03054, with median rent of $1,462 and $1,932 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.9% vs 88.9%. 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.