ZIP 03218 vs ZIP 03263

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03218 (Barnstead, NH) and ZIP 03263 (Pittsfield, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03218 has a population of 960 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 03263 has 4,114 at 66 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 03218 reports a median household income of $112,500 against $74,318 in ZIP 03263, with per-capita income of $43,637 vs $36,509. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.5% in 03218 and 22.7% in 03263. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 11.3%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 1.4% — 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 $346,900 in 03218 versus $294,800 in 03263, with median rent of $1,469 and $1,239 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.3% vs 68.8%. 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.