ZIP 80442 vs ZIP 80478

This side-by-side compares ZIP 80442 (Fraser, CO) and ZIP 80478 (Tabernash, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 80442 has a population of 2,309 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 80478 has 1,606 at 15 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 80442 reports a median household income of $108,387 against $105,801 in ZIP 80478, with per-capita income of $56,929 vs $68,568. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.7% in 80442 and 31.0% in 80478. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 5.5% — 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 $773,000 in 80442 versus $1,008,600 in 80478, with median rent of $1,628 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.1% vs 93.5%. 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.