ZIP 81152 vs ZIP 81126

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