ZIP 81301 vs ZIP 81122

This side-by-side compares ZIP 81301 (Durango, CO) and ZIP 81122 (Bayfield, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 81301 has a population of 28,308 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 81122 has 8,228 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 81301 reports a median household income of $83,943 against $93,714 in ZIP 81122, with per-capita income of $51,582 vs $50,049. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 59.7% in 81301 and 43.3% in 81122. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 9.4%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 4.9% — 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 $695,800 in 81301 versus $459,800 in 81122, with median rent of $1,535 and $1,491 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.9% vs 84.1%. 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.