ZIP 80023 vs ZIP 80234

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80023 (Broomfield, CO) and ZIP 80234 (Denver, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80023 has a population of 15,415 at 338 people per square mile, while ZIP 80234 has 25,937 at 1,408 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 80023 reports a median household income of $158,180 against $92,563 in ZIP 80234, with per-capita income of $77,658 vs $52,400. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 69.2% in 80023 and 37.8% in 80234. Poverty rate reads 3.6% vs 8.2%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 2.5% — 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 $869,000 in 80023 versus $530,300 in 80234, with median rent of $2,124 and $1,829 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.2% vs 59.2%. 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.