ZIP 80003 vs ZIP 80030

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80003 (Arvada, CO) and ZIP 80030 (Westminster, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80003 has a population of 35,384 at 2,013 people per square mile, while ZIP 80030 has 15,329 at 2,244 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 80003 reports a median household income of $91,464 against $61,092 in ZIP 80030, with per-capita income of $43,550 vs $36,125. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.7% in 80003 and 26.8% in 80030. Poverty rate reads 9.3% vs 16.1%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 7.1% — 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 $534,700 in 80003 versus $439,400 in 80030, with median rent of $1,795 and $1,341 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.1% vs 55.9%. 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.