ZIP 06480 vs ZIP 06414

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06480 (Portland, CT) and ZIP 06414 (Cobalt, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06480 has a population of 9,508 at 157 people per square mile, while ZIP 06414 has 214 at 285 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 06480 reports a median household income of $118,929 against $131,090 in ZIP 06414, with per-capita income of $56,080 vs $35,987. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.1% in 06480 and 11.9% in 06414. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 27.2%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 17.8% — 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 $337,400 in 06480 versus $356,000 in 06414, with median rent of $1,129 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 100.0%. 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.