ZIP 85213 vs ZIP 85203

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