ZIP 85018 vs ZIP 85008

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