ZIP 87421 vs ZIP 87416

This side-by-side compares ZIP 87421 (Waterflow, NM) and ZIP 87416 (Fruitland, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 87421 has a population of 1,871 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 87416 has 5,454 at 22 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 87421 reports a median household income of $51,029 against $49,973 in ZIP 87416, with per-capita income of $20,177 vs $21,849. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.0% in 87421 and 16.1% in 87416. Poverty rate reads 22.0% vs 35.4%, and unemployment 12.4% vs 14.4% — 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 $122,800 in 87421 versus $94,400 in 87416, with median rent of $1,616 and $830 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.9% vs 80.1%. 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.