ZIP 85541 vs ZIP 85501

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85541 (Payson, AZ) and ZIP 85501 (Globe, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85541 has a population of 21,877 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 85501 has 13,345 at 9 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 85541 reports a median household income of $66,383 against $61,983 in ZIP 85501, with per-capita income of $44,466 vs $30,414. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 85541 and 16.6% in 85501. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 15.8%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 4.9% — 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 $361,200 in 85541 versus $164,200 in 85501, with median rent of $1,260 and $903 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.1% vs 75.8%. 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.