ZIP 81521 vs ZIP 81524

This side-by-side compares ZIP 81521 (Fruita, CO) and ZIP 81524 (Loma, CO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 81521 has a population of 15,397 at 40 people per square mile, while ZIP 81524 has 2,300 at 5 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 81521 reports a median household income of $88,458 against $99,947 in ZIP 81524, with per-capita income of $43,586 vs $40,301. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.0% in 81521 and 40.0% in 81524. Poverty rate reads 3.7% vs 3.3%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 6.1% — 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 $422,900 in 81521 versus $665,600 in 81524, with median rent of $1,398 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.2% vs 85.3%. 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.