ZIP 80260 vs ZIP 80031

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80260 (Denver, CO) and ZIP 80031 (Westminster, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80260 has a population of 31,412 at 2,506 people per square mile, while ZIP 80031 has 33,932 at 1,553 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 80260 reports a median household income of $61,852 against $107,422 in ZIP 80031, with per-capita income of $27,334 vs $56,568. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.8% in 80260 and 45.1% in 80031. Poverty rate reads 18.8% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 3.1% — 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 $223,200 in 80260 versus $535,300 in 80031, with median rent of $1,642 and $1,994 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.4% vs 69.7%. 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.