ZIP 85205 vs ZIP 85206

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85205 (Mesa, AZ) and ZIP 85206 (Mesa, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85205 has a population of 39,858 at 1,572 people per square mile, while ZIP 85206 has 33,154 at 1,342 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 85205 reports a median household income of $73,283 against $75,607 in ZIP 85206, with per-capita income of $43,597 vs $41,243. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.1% in 85205 and 32.6% in 85206. Poverty rate reads 8.9% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 4.4% — 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 $339,900 in 85205 versus $357,900 in 85206, with median rent of $1,446 and $1,818 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.4% vs 63.7%. 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.