ZIP 20002 vs ZIP 20003

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20002 (Washington, DC) and ZIP 20003 (Washington, DC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20002 has a population of 52,370 at 3,853 people per square mile, while ZIP 20003 has 26,454 at 4,553 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 20002 reports a median household income of $120,337 against $159,846 in ZIP 20003, with per-capita income of $78,741 vs $109,593. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 71.2% in 20002 and 82.0% in 20003. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 4.4% — 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 $826,400 in 20002 versus $957,700 in 20003, with median rent of $2,212 and $2,698 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 38.3% vs 37.0%. 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.