ZIP 22312 vs ZIP 22304

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22312 (Alexandria, VA) and ZIP 22304 (Alexandria, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22312 has a population of 30,614 at 2,203 people per square mile, while ZIP 22304 has 44,300 at 3,690 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 22312 reports a median household income of $109,272 against $101,600 in ZIP 22304, with per-capita income of $53,900 vs $66,826. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 53.5% in 22312 and 56.5% in 22304. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 4.9% 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 $604,200 in 22312 versus $508,200 in 22304, with median rent of $2,020 and $1,972 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.1% vs 40.9%. 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.