ZIP 03045 vs ZIP 03102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03045 (Goffstown, NH) and ZIP 03102 (Manchester, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03045 has a population of 13,560 at 146 people per square mile, while ZIP 03102 has 31,096 at 1,327 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 03045 reports a median household income of $119,205 against $74,327 in ZIP 03102, with per-capita income of $56,672 vs $43,223. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.9% in 03045 and 35.1% in 03102. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 2.6% — 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 $384,600 in 03045 versus $343,300 in 03102, with median rent of $1,486 and $1,626 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.0% vs 41.0%. 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.