ZIP 85552 vs ZIP 85531

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85552 (Thatcher, AZ) and ZIP 85531 (Central, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85552 has a population of 6,218 at 100 people per square mile, while ZIP 85531 has 623 at 58 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 85552 reports a median household income of $88,454 against $97,365 in ZIP 85531, with per-capita income of $33,787 vs $41,021. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 85552 and 54.1% in 85531. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 2.1%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $290,900 in 85552 versus $480,000 in 85531, with median rent of $937 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.4% vs 71.4%. 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.