ZIP 81126 vs ZIP 81152

This side-by-side compares ZIP 81126 (Chama, CO) and ZIP 81152 (San Luis, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 81126 has a population of 276 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 81152 has 1,434 at 1 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 81126 reports a median household income of $52,870 against $31,875 in ZIP 81152, with per-capita income of $32,505 vs $24,645. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.8% in 81126 and 13.9% in 81152. Poverty rate reads 10.9% vs 16.4%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 6.7% - 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 $170,400 in 81126 versus $120,300 in 81152, with median rent of - and $731 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 68.1%. 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.