ZIP 85172 vs ZIP 85138

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85172 (Stanfield, AZ) and ZIP 85138 (Maricopa, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85172 has a population of 1,368 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 85138 has 33,633 at 175 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 85172 reports a median household income of $71,806 against $95,867 in ZIP 85138, with per-capita income of $27,441 vs $37,296. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 85172 and 23.7% in 85138. Poverty rate reads 15.0% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 12.1% vs 5.3% — 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 $159,600 in 85172 versus $378,800 in 85138, with median rent of $944 and $1,974 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.4% vs 82.3%. 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.