ZIP 06897 vs ZIP 06850

This side-by-side compares ZIP 06897 (Wilton, CT) and ZIP 06850 (Norwalk, CT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 06897 has a population of 18,071 at 260 people per square mile, while ZIP 06850 has 18,078 at 1,040 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 06897 reports a median household income of $242,199 against $123,633 in ZIP 06850, with per-capita income of $113,354 vs $65,941. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 75.2% in 06897 and 51.2% in 06850. Poverty rate reads 2.4% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 6.0% — 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 $928,800 in 06897 versus $581,200 in 06850, with median rent of $1,819 and $2,170 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 54.1%. 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.