ZIP 88005 vs ZIP 88046

This side-by-side compares ZIP 88005 (Las Cruces, NM) and ZIP 88046 (Mesilla, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 88005 has a population of 27,116 at 213 people per square mile, while ZIP 88046 has 697 at 113 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 88005 reports a median household income of $54,452 against — in ZIP 88046, with per-capita income of $31,092 vs $43,685. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.1% in 88005 and 55.0% in 88046. Poverty rate reads 23.3% vs 9.5%, and unemployment 9.5% 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 $220,800 in 88005 versus $264,300 in 88046, with median rent of $890 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.8% vs 87.2%. 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.