ZIP 03820 vs ZIP 03878

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03820 (Dover, NH) and ZIP 03878 (Somersworth, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03820 has a population of 30,039 at 418 people per square mile, while ZIP 03878 has 11,824 at 456 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 03820 reports a median household income of $94,897 against $75,136 in ZIP 03878, with per-capita income of $52,784 vs $42,408. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.0% in 03820 and 31.3% in 03878. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 4.1% 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 $436,100 in 03820 versus $317,900 in 03878, with median rent of $1,607 and $1,479 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.7% vs 58.0%. 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.