ZIP 85008 vs ZIP 85018

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85008 (Phoenix, AZ) and ZIP 85018 (Phoenix, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85008 has a population of 56,145 at 2,070 people per square mile, while ZIP 85018 has 36,065 at 1,252 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 85008 reports a median household income of $66,353 against $93,885 in ZIP 85018, with per-capita income of $32,256 vs $86,417. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.9% in 85008 and 58.5% in 85018. Poverty rate reads 18.5% vs 8.2%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 3.3% — 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 $358,000 in 85008 versus $862,000 in 85018, with median rent of $1,403 and $1,537 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 31.3% vs 56.4%. 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.