ZIP 87571 vs ZIP 87514

This side-by-side compares ZIP 87571 (Taos, NM) and ZIP 87514 (Arroyo Seco, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 87571 has a population of 11,706 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 87514 has 1,345 at 30 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 87571 reports a median household income of $57,575 against $71,556 in ZIP 87514, with per-capita income of $56,096 vs $47,261. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.8% in 87571 and 49.5% in 87514. Poverty rate reads 17.1% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 11.1% vs 5.8% — 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 $458,900 in 87571 versus $545,200 in 87514, with median rent of $1,010 and $1,544 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.4% vs 81.0%. 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.