ZIP 20016 vs ZIP 20008

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20016 (Washington, DC) and ZIP 20008 (Washington, DC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20016 has a population of 32,519 at 2,829 people per square mile, while ZIP 20008 has 27,525 at 3,497 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 20016 reports a median household income of $178,920 against $125,212 in ZIP 20008, with per-capita income of $117,401 vs $111,811. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 87.5% in 20016 and 90.4% in 20008. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 4.3% — 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 $1,216,000 in 20016 versus $965,100 in 20008, with median rent of $2,358 and $2,206 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.6% vs 36.4%. 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.