ZIP 34215 vs ZIP 34217

This side-by-side compares ZIP 34215 (Cortez, FL) and ZIP 34217 (Bradenton Beach, FL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 34215 has a population of 768 at 673 people per square mile, while ZIP 34217 has 5,007 at 882 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 34215 reports a median household income of $77,857 against $80,972 in ZIP 34217, with per-capita income of $68,162 vs $84,053. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.0% in 34215 and 61.8% in 34217. Poverty rate reads 5.4% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 4.8% — 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 $708,300 in 34215 versus $657,400 in 34217, with median rent of — and $1,688 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.9% vs 88.3%. 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.