ZIP 06231 vs ZIP 06415

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06231 (Amston, CT) and ZIP 06415 (Colchester, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06231 has a population of 4,083 at 99 people per square mile, while ZIP 06415 has 16,857 at 120 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 06231 reports a median household income of $168,313 against $123,256 in ZIP 06415, with per-capita income of $71,798 vs $60,848. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 59.2% in 06231 and 49.8% in 06415. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 3.8%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 1.7% — 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 $407,500 in 06231 versus $366,300 in 06415, with median rent of $1,378 and $1,474 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.0% vs 77.3%. 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.