ZIP 85203 vs ZIP 85213

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85203 (Mesa, AZ) and ZIP 85213 (Mesa, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85203 has a population of 35,541 at 1,498 people per square mile, while ZIP 85213 has 31,797 at 1,296 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 85203 reports a median household income of $73,578 against $103,969 in ZIP 85213, with per-capita income of $35,587 vs $46,659. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.4% in 85203 and 41.3% in 85213. Poverty rate reads 13.7% vs 7.9%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 5.0% — 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 $439,100 in 85203 versus $438,900 in 85213, with median rent of $1,534 and $1,730 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.6% vs 78.5%. 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.