ZIP 87548 vs ZIP 87537

This side-by-side compares ZIP 87548 (Medanales, NM) and ZIP 87537 (Hernandez, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 87548 has a population of 928 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 87537 has 2,957 at 19 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 87548 reports a median household income of $72,788 against $48,228 in ZIP 87537, with per-capita income of $29,322 vs $31,842. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.8% in 87548 and 2.9% in 87537. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.2% — 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 87548 versus $250,000 in 87537, with median rent of — and $777 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.3% vs 78.7%. 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.