ZIP 85249 vs ZIP 85286

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85249 (Chandler, AZ) and ZIP 85286 (Chandler, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85249 has a population of 36,908 at 1,032 people per square mile, while ZIP 85286 has 38,930 at 925 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 85249 reports a median household income of $153,633 against $121,758 in ZIP 85286, with per-capita income of $68,134 vs $56,007. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.6% in 85249 and 54.8% in 85286. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 3.7% — 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 $660,600 in 85249 versus $601,900 in 85286, with median rent of $2,392 and $2,109 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.5% vs 65.4%. 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.