ZIP 03851 vs ZIP 03887

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03851 (Milton, NH) and ZIP 03887 (Union, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03851 has a population of 4,040 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 03887 has 2,154 at 41 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 03851 reports a median household income of $93,412 against $91,875 in ZIP 03887, with per-capita income of $41,413 vs $40,533. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.9% in 03851 and 23.3% in 03887. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 4.1% — 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 $314,300 in 03851 versus $292,800 in 03887, with median rent of $1,587 and $1,500 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.7% vs 96.9%. 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.