ZIP 85326 vs ZIP 85396

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85326 (Buckeye, AZ) and ZIP 85396 (Buckeye, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85326 has a population of 51,705 at 54 people per square mile, while ZIP 85396 has 12,163 at 57 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 85326 reports a median household income of $89,876 against $114,056 in ZIP 85396, with per-capita income of $29,576 vs $45,821. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.7% in 85326 and 35.1% in 85396. Poverty rate reads 9.3% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 6.3% — 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 $373,300 in 85326 versus $482,900 in 85396, with median rent of $1,770 and $2,243 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.8% vs 92.7%. 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.