ZIP 81321 vs ZIP 81323

This side-by-side compares ZIP 81321 (Cortez, CO) and ZIP 81323 (Dolores, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 81321 has a population of 14,459 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 81323 has 4,409 at 2 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 81321 reports a median household income of $59,506 against $75,393 in ZIP 81323, with per-capita income of $34,155 vs $41,842. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.4% in 81321 and 33.2% in 81323. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 11.6%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 2.7% - 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 $289,000 in 81321 versus $392,000 in 81323, with median rent of $969 and $891 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.6% vs 75.1%. 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.