ZIP 03855 vs ZIP 03809

This side-by-side compares ZIP 03855 (New Durham, NH) and ZIP 03809 (Alton, NH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 03855 has a population of 2,638 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 03809 has 3,716 at 35 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 03855 reports a median household income of $100,194 against $106,397 in ZIP 03809, with per-capita income of $47,053 vs $44,902. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.7% in 03855 and 30.9% in 03809. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 5.1%, and unemployment 9.3% vs 3.1% — 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 $339,400 in 03855 versus $387,500 in 03809, with median rent of $1,417 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.0% vs 90.9%. 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.