ZIP 85226 vs ZIP 85044

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85226 (Chandler, AZ) and ZIP 85044 (Phoenix, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85226 has a population of 37,376 at 180 people per square mile, while ZIP 85044 has 37,993 at 1,018 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 85226 reports a median household income of $114,817 against $96,820 in ZIP 85044, with per-capita income of $54,818 vs $57,377. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.6% in 85226 and 51.3% in 85044. Poverty rate reads 7.1% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.7% — 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 $483,800 in 85226 versus $474,800 in 85044, with median rent of $1,892 and $1,874 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.8% vs 62.4%. 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.