ZIP 80004 vs ZIP 80003

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80004 (Arvada, CO) and ZIP 80003 (Arvada, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80004 has a population of 35,892 at 1,881 people per square mile, while ZIP 80003 has 35,384 at 2,013 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 80004 reports a median household income of $103,659 against $91,464 in ZIP 80003, with per-capita income of $57,260 vs $43,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.4% in 80004 and 35.7% in 80003. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 4.7% — 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 $616,700 in 80004 versus $534,700 in 80003, with median rent of $1,825 and $1,795 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.6% vs 70.1%. 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.