ZIP 80116 vs ZIP 80104

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80116 (Franktown, CO) and ZIP 80104 (Castle Rock, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80116 has a population of 3,942 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 80104 has 27,588 at 137 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 80116 reports a median household income of $146,000 against $134,335 in ZIP 80104, with per-capita income of $75,026 vs $59,720. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.8% in 80116 and 55.8% in 80104. Poverty rate reads 2.9% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 3.8% — 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 $960,400 in 80116 versus $624,200 in 80104, with median rent of $1,435 and $1,880 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.7% vs 79.4%. 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.