ZIP 85377 vs ZIP 85266

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85377 (Carefree, AZ) and ZIP 85266 (Scottsdale, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85377 has a population of 3,051 at 139 people per square mile, while ZIP 85266 has 11,406 at 257 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 85377 reports a median household income of $149,167 against $151,923 in ZIP 85266, with per-capita income of $91,234 vs $91,874. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 64.1% in 85377 and 67.2% in 85266. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 5.0%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 3.6% — 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 $1,077,500 in 85377 versus $1,128,500 in 85266, with median rent of $1,538 and $3,136 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.4% vs 97.6%. 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.