ZIP 85344 vs ZIP 85346

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85344 (Parker, AZ) and ZIP 85346 (Quartzsite, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85344 has a population of 9,147 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 85346 has 4,423 at 3 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 85344 reports a median household income of $54,583 against $44,028 in ZIP 85346, with per-capita income of $34,650 vs $34,454. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.6% in 85344 and 21.6% in 85346. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 17.0%, and unemployment 7.6% vs 33.9% — 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 $216,400 in 85344 versus — in 85346, with median rent of $807 and $836 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.9% vs 77.8%. 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.