ZIP 85206 vs ZIP 85205

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