ZIP 80138 vs ZIP 80016

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80138 (Parker, CO) and ZIP 80016 (Aurora, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80138 has a population of 29,786 at 182 people per square mile, while ZIP 80016 has 41,219 at 339 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 80138 reports a median household income of $145,013 against $150,492 in ZIP 80016, with per-capita income of $64,516 vs $68,855. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.1% in 80138 and 59.1% in 80016. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 4.0%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 4.2% — 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 $723,600 in 80138 versus $761,700 in 80016, with median rent of $2,036 and $2,195 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.4% vs 78.5%. 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.