ZIP 87523 vs ZIP 87522

This side-by-side compares ZIP 87523 (Cordova, NM) and ZIP 87522 (Chimayo, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 87523 has a population of 405 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 87522 has 3,384 at 8 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 87523 reports a median household income of $23,395 against $58,620 in ZIP 87522, with per-capita income of $11,339 vs $34,634. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 87523 and 10.5% in 87522. Poverty rate reads 64.3% vs 25.6%, and unemployment — vs 0.9% — 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 — in 87523 versus $233,200 in 87522, with median rent of — and $873 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 80.0%. 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.