ZIP 20009 vs ZIP 20036

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20009 (Washington, DC) and ZIP 20036 (Washington, DC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20009 has a population of 47,992 at 14,097 people per square mile, while ZIP 20036 has 5,435 at 6,304 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 20009 reports a median household income of $146,664 against $99,832 in ZIP 20036, with per-capita income of $111,612 vs $115,729. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 82.8% in 20009 and 94.2% in 20036. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 14.5%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 1.9% — 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 $722,500 in 20009 versus $449,300 in 20036, with median rent of $2,341 and $2,263 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 35.3% vs 38.2%. 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.