ZIP 85023 vs ZIP 85053

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85023 (Phoenix, AZ) and ZIP 85053 (Phoenix, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85023 has a population of 31,274 at 1,653 people per square mile, while ZIP 85053 has 28,480 at 2,111 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 85023 reports a median household income of $77,369 against $70,011 in ZIP 85053, with per-capita income of $42,322 vs $37,160. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.8% in 85023 and 27.9% in 85053. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 7.3% — 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 $391,200 in 85023 versus $367,000 in 85053, with median rent of $1,577 and $1,452 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.6% vs 61.5%. 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.