ZIP 05401 vs ZIP 05452

This side-by-side compares ZIP 05401 (Burlington, VT) and ZIP 05452 (Essex Junction, VT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 05401 has a population of 28,185 at 1,837 people per square mile, while ZIP 05452 has 19,710 at 183 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 05401 reports a median household income of $65,657 against $101,349 in ZIP 05452, with per-capita income of $40,162 vs $52,151. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.6% in 05401 and 55.3% in 05452. Poverty rate reads 25.0% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 2.0% — 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 $492,100 in 05401 versus $432,400 in 05452, with median rent of $1,665 and $1,553 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 31.4% vs 67.7%. 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.