ZIP 87801 vs ZIP 87828

This side-by-side compares ZIP 87801 (Socorro, NM) and ZIP 87828 (Polvadera, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 87801 has a population of 10,221 at 28 people per square mile, while ZIP 87828 has 429 at 84 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 87801 reports a median household income of $46,525 against — in ZIP 87828, with per-capita income of $23,147 vs $29,703. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 87801 and 11.5% in 87828. Poverty rate reads 30.7% vs 85.8%, and unemployment 1.9% 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 $165,400 in 87801 versus $116,400 in 87828, with median rent of $715 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.5% vs 84.0%. 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.