ZIP 87549 vs ZIP 87582

This side-by-side compares ZIP 87549 (Ojo Caliente, NM) and ZIP 87582 (Velarde, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 87549 has a population of 1,118 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 87582 has 1,350 at 28 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 87549 reports a median household income of $56,134 against — in ZIP 87582, with per-capita income of $48,224 vs $69,956. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.6% in 87549 and 56.8% in 87582. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 12.4% 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 $256,900 in 87549 versus $302,900 in 87582, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.4% vs 66.5%. 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.