ZIP 33954 vs ZIP 34288

This side-by-side compares ZIP 33954 (Port Charlotte, FL) and ZIP 34288 (North Port, FL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 33954 has a population of 9,290 at 422 people per square mile, while ZIP 34288 has 10,856 at 217 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 33954 reports a median household income of $78,288 against $84,211 in ZIP 34288, with per-capita income of $40,241 vs $43,055. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.1% in 33954 and 31.0% in 34288. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 7.9%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 5.9% — 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 $332,600 in 33954 versus $360,700 in 34288, with median rent of $1,972 and $2,119 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.6% vs 77.0%. 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.