ZIP 06256 vs ZIP 06280

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06256 (North Windham, CT) and ZIP 06280 (Windham, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06256 has a population of 2,154 at 111 people per square mile, while ZIP 06280 has 3,162 at 84 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 06256 reports a median household income of $80,333 against $76,577 in ZIP 06280, with per-capita income of $42,224 vs $44,269. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.6% in 06256 and 19.6% in 06280. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 12.2%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 2.7% — 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 $187,700 in 06256 versus $250,500 in 06280, with median rent of — and $1,731 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.9% vs 75.1%. 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.