ZIP 03087 vs ZIP 03079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03087 (Windham, NH) and ZIP 03079 (Salem, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03087 has a population of 13,592 at 196 people per square mile, while ZIP 03079 has 28,776 at 448 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 03087 reports a median household income of $189,583 against $110,490 in ZIP 03079, with per-capita income of $79,463 vs $58,510. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.7% in 03087 and 38.7% in 03079. Poverty rate reads 2.0% vs 5.0%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 2.8% — 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 $723,300 in 03087 versus $473,300 in 03079, with median rent of $3,218 and $1,625 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.9% vs 75.6%. 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.