ZIP 22206 vs ZIP 22302

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22206 (Arlington, VA) and ZIP 22302 (Alexandria, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22206 has a population of 19,051 at 3,582 people per square mile, while ZIP 22302 has 16,485 at 2,844 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 22206 reports a median household income of $140,877 against $123,539 in ZIP 22302, with per-capita income of $87,992 vs $86,430. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 74.1% in 22206 and 70.7% in 22302. Poverty rate reads 3.7% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 4.5% — 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 $586,000 in 22206 versus $631,100 in 22302, with median rent of $2,381 and $2,140 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 45.9% vs 54.4%. 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.