ZIP 85202 vs ZIP 85210

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85202 (Mesa, AZ) and ZIP 85210 (Mesa, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85202 has a population of 37,275 at 2,289 people per square mile, while ZIP 85210 has 36,464 at 2,139 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 85202 reports a median household income of $71,619 against $61,957 in ZIP 85210, with per-capita income of $39,271 vs $31,702. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.6% in 85202 and 23.9% in 85210. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 5.1% — 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 $370,900 in 85202 versus $337,800 in 85210, with median rent of $1,594 and $1,497 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.7% vs 42.8%. 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.