ZIP 06002 vs ZIP 06117

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06002 (Bloomfield, CT) and ZIP 06117 (West Hartford, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06002 has a population of 20,486 at 304 people per square mile, while ZIP 06117 has 17,267 at 671 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 06002 reports a median household income of $98,162 against $171,707 in ZIP 06117, with per-capita income of $53,519 vs $78,394. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.8% in 06002 and 73.7% in 06117. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 4.0%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 4.8% — 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 $286,400 in 06002 versus $472,300 in 06117, with median rent of $1,881 and $2,179 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.2% vs 79.3%. 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.