ZIP 85901 vs ZIP 85929

This side-by-side compares ZIP 85901 (Show Low, AZ) and ZIP 85929 (Lakeside, AZ) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 85901 has a population of 17,207 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 85929 has 8,322 at 53 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 85901 reports a median household income of $59,779 against $62,752 in ZIP 85929, with per-capita income of $35,378 vs $33,987. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.4% in 85901 and 25.7% in 85929. Poverty rate reads 12.2% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 10.8% — 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 $280,300 in 85901 versus $306,900 in 85929, with median rent of $1,071 and $1,207 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.6% vs 77.0%. 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.