ZIP 03103 vs ZIP 03109

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03103 (Manchester, NH) and ZIP 03109 (Manchester, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03103 has a population of 36,476 at 1,445 people per square mile, while ZIP 03109 has 10,314 at 541 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 03103 reports a median household income of $73,540 against $108,144 in ZIP 03109, with per-capita income of $36,947 vs $53,885. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 03103 and 32.3% in 03109. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 8.0% — 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 $342,200 in 03103 versus $387,900 in 03109, with median rent of $1,436 and $1,802 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.3% vs 77.1%. 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.